Romania. The Eastern Flank: Cooperation, intervention and integration
A roundup of military news
Lăcrămioara Simion, 18.09.2024, 14:00
The structure for the integration of NATO forces in Romania has completed 9 years of existence. Established in 2015 as NATO’s response to changes in the security environment and to threats from the east and south, the unit is a multinational NATO command and control structure. The decision to establish this command and another five on the eastern flank of the Alliance was made at the September 2014 summit in Wales, where the Rapid Reaction Plan was approved, which includes a series of collective defense measures, including the increase in NATO’s reaction forces to about 40,000 soldiers and the creation of a rapid reaction force of about 5,000 soldiers able to intervene in a very short time in the event of a crisis. Throughout this time, the NATO Force Integration Unit in Romania has played a key role in improving NATO’s readiness and response capabilities on the Eastern flank, ensuring the collective defense of our Allies and promoting regional stability.
For 18 days, a detachment belonging to the 151st Infantry Battalion “Războieni” participated, together with the other Romanian structures deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the multinational exercise QUICK RESPONSE 24. Troops from all 23 countries of EUFOR (European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina) were involved, that temporarily received reinforcements from the Austrian, Hungarian and Romanian reserve forces. The continued presence of EUFOR members in local communities gives them a better perspective on the situation on the ground and gives them the opportunity to assist local partners in ensuring a stable and secure environment. “In the first part of the exercise, we carried out training with all the soldiers from the participating nations, and in the second part, the soldiers carried out the whole spectrum of missions specific to the Bosnia and Herzegovina theater of operations. On the Day of Distinguished Visitors, a complex exercise took place in which, based on a fictitious scenario, a series of military actions were carried out”, Lieutenant-Colonel Ioan Levărdă, the commander of the Romanian detachment, said.
For two weeks, the National Training Center for non-commissioned and warrant officers in Pitesti, southern Romania, hosted the third Development Course for drill instructors, in cooperation with soldiers from the Alabama National Guard. This session is part of the training of the associated military instructors who will carry out training activities in the general military training module with the students who are being trained at the National Training Center for non-commissioned and warrant officers in the new academic year. The future associate instructors completed this module under the direct guidance of the American partners and Romanian colleagues, former graduates of this course. The purpose of these actions is to implement this course in the training of non-commissioned and warrant officers in the Romanian Army, being a form of training based on objectives that are based on the recognized international competences of the instructors.
We also inform you that two military students in the second year at the “Mircea cel Bătrân” Naval Academy, from Constanta (southeast), will spend a semester of study at the Theresan Military Academy in Austria, through the Erasmus+ program. Students will be able to improve their knowledge of military leadership and have the opportunity to see how officers from other countries train at one of the oldest military academies in the world, founded in 1752. (Teodora Mazere, LS)
