”Proud and strong” at the command of NATO Battle Group Romania
Since early January, colonel Thierry Denechaud has been the new commander of the Battle Group NATO ”Sevastopol” in Cincu, Romania
Daniel Bilț, 19.03.2025, 13:58
Worth mentioning is the fact that in France, colonel Denechaud is commander of the 5th Dragons Regiment in Mailly-le-Camp, one of the oldest in the French army, founded in 1635 and the only interarms regiment in metropolitan France. The aforementioned regiment, which is made up of squadrons of Leclerc tanks, companies of mechanized infantry, recon units, engineers, artillery support, plays the role of the opposing forces in the Mailly-le-Camp training ground where all the French units are training.
The regiment structure is almost identical with that of the NATO Battle Group in Romania, though at a smaller scale.
During the Eagle Warrior 25 exercise at the training ground in Topraisar, in south-eastern Romania, close to the Black Sea, I asked colonel Denechaud if this helps him to improve his command here in Romania:
” Yes. First it eases our work, because we have already come with infantry troops, tank crews, recon troops and engineers. There are also servicemen from other regiments, because our troops were not enough. But we have this united army spirit, which is pervasive, you know. Notably, here in Topraisar we’ve also brought a unit of infantry and another one of engineers. And this is our identity to take action as joint forces. This is what we are going to do now with the allies and Romanian partners, to have this spirit of joint forces, joint arms, which we are sharing, to work together”, colonel Denechaud went on to say.
In spite of the short time, the colonel has already made some impressions about Romania, its people, history and geography.
” I didn’t have enough time as everything moves on very fast, you know. Most of the time I’ve been in the field to see how troops are training, because that’s the most important thing. I’ve been to the mountains for a while, and I believe it’s worth visiting the Carpathians, because they are impressive and also very interesting from the historical point of view. We are interested in the history of Romania, maybe, because it’s different from that of France. Romania’s history is also impressive, you know. And I am looking forward to discovering the entire story. I haven’t discovered the Romanian cuisine yet, but it won’t take me too long. Here in Dobrogea, the relief looks very much like in France, it’s a flat region. I believe each country has its own characteristics and you can discover everything, provided you are curious enough. I believe that Romania had the chance of having the Black Sea, this maritime part, plains and this mountainous region of the Carpathians. This makes you want to discover Romania,” the French commander said.
Colonel Thierry Denechaud, a native of Bourges, in central France, has immediately noticed the characteristics of the Romanian people, and not of the servicemen he interacts with.
” I believe the Romanian people is very hospitable and proud. I don’t know it very well, because one month is a very short period of time, but I believe the Romanians are really proud people. There is a genuine welcome feeling and we see that every day wherever we go. It is very nice, when you are French and are welcomed like that, you know. I was surprise to learn that many Romanians have notions of French and there are many Romanians speaking the language. It’s a real pleasure. They make this effort whenever they see the French flag so I am trying to speak Romanian a little bit. Don’t know many words now, though,” colonel Denechaud says.
The Commander of the NATO Battle Group has made it to almost all the training grounds around Romania, which are hosting allied drills, such as Bogata, Cincu, Smârdan, Topraisar, the Diham chalet in the mountains and next he’ll be visiting the shooting ground at Midia Cape, where artillery units are honing their skills by firing at targets on the Black Sea.
(bill)
