“Le premier, toujours le premier!”
The chief of operations of the NATO Battle Group in Romania, Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Renault, has recently completed his first rotation in Romania.
Agenția Media a Armatei, 12.02.2025, 14:00
Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Renault of the 1st Riflemen Regiment in Epinal was for the last four months. For him, the time spent in Romania as chief of operations of the “Sevastopol” NATO Battle Group in Romania, also known as the Aigle Mission, were extraordinary. It was a special experience, both for him and for the young French soldiers under his command. Born in Orleans, a city located 120 kilometers south of Paris, Guillaume Renault spent the four months in Cincu, Brașov County, but also in other locations across the country, as the Battle Group takes part in nearly all of NATO national and multinational exercises in Romania.
“For us it is a good opportunity to change tactics, to familiarize ourselves with Romanian weapons, to see how both sides train, both French and Romanian. I spoke to my soldiers and they told me they were very happy to discover so many new things here, because they were not used to such experiences in France. It is a very good opportunity and I really hope that we will strengthen this collaboration and conduct more such exercises”, Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Renault said. Guillaume Renault is part of the 1st Riflemen Regiment, which is garrisoned in the city of Epinal, in the Vosges department, Lorraine region. The regiment, currently a mechanized infantry regiment, is one of the best-known in France. It was re-established in 1994, although it carried over the traditions of the North African (Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian) rifle regiments that were created in 1841. It is subordinated to the French 7th Armored Brigade from Besançon, which provides most of the French troops to the NATO Battle Group in Romania. “Premier, toujours le premier!” is the regiment’s motto, which says it all. In the last four months, the typical duration of a French rotation in Romania, Guillaume Renault has worked hard to prepare the Battle Group for major NATO exercises due this spring. “Currently, the battalion is made up of various units from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and recently, also from Spain. And in the last exercise in the DACIAN series that was led by our brigade, we put into practice the same ideas and objectives as in this year’s exercise, DACIAN SPRING 25, only this will be a much broader exercise, with numerous troops arriving here in Romania from France”, Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Renault said.
Although he found Romania quite similar to France in many ways, Guillaume Renault’s biggest regret, upon leaving the country in January, was that his position did not leave him enough time to get to know more places and people in Romania. However, he likes Romanian food and it was interesting to sample new dishes, make new friends and discover local customs. (VP)
