Different nations, one mission

Servicemen of several nations are presently training in Cincu, central Romania

Agenția Media a Armatei, 23.04.2025, 13:19

NATO allied forces are combining their efforts every day under the same assignment: namely to protect the Alliance’s Eastern Flank. At the National Joint Training Center in Cincu (central Romania), we are speaking about five thousand troops who are making the Battle Group Forward Presence in Romania with France as a lead nation.

Servicemen from Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain are training together with their French counterparts in a multi-cultural environment where diversity becomes a strategic resource, not an obstacle. Sharing barracks, training grounds, responsibilities and sometimes jokes in various languages, these servicemen are making up a common front against geo-political uncertainties. But beyond the standard equipment and rigorous military exercise there is another story: that of the people behind the uniforms. But how are these servicemen adjusting to life in Romania? And what does it actually mean to be part of a multinational force? Answers to these questions come right from those who are living this reality on a daily basis.

In this international mosaic personal stories become the binder which turns a simple international cooperation into a community.

Some of them are discovering Romania for the first time, others are finding here part of their identity. Such is the case of a French serviceman, whose identity cannot be revealed. We are going to call him “Julien”. He speaks Romanian not because he learnt it during the mission, but because he learnt it while a child as his mother was Romanian. “I got hired in the French army because I am French. I learnt Romanian in childhood because I liked it. I got here in Romania at Cincu, with the NATO Battle Group Forward Presence with France as the lead country. It’s interesting here because we have the opportunity of training with other nations. We are traveling to other locations and we can train with Romanians, Spanish and Belgians.”

The national diversity in the Battle Group Forward Presence doesn’t only mean different accents but also various specialisations, distinct experiences and unique perspectives over the same mission. And if for Julien, the connection with Romania was a personal one, for other servicemen the Cincu experience is a first

Sergeant Niels, machine gunner with the Belgian army, is for the first time in Romania. Very disciplined with attention to detail, Niels has found his place in a multinational team, where communication and synchronicity are crucial. He talked to us about his responsibilities within the unit but also about the motivation to become a soldier. “Machine gunners are a special component of the team with the purpose of providing support to their team mates during the fight. They take vantage points, with a view to providing cover fire and easing the advance of their own troops. I have been a soldier for the past four years and wanted to enlist because it’s a wonderful profession. You discover a lot of things about yourself, you get yourself a new family here, friends and all. You do things one cannot normally do in a regular job. It’s an extraordinary job and I like it very much.”

Sergeant Niels has described the mission in Romania as a rare opportunity, not only as a professional but also as a human. For him belonging in NATO is more than a military commitment; it’s a challenging experience, which develops him and connects him to people from various cultures: “It’s a great opportunity because you can learn about other nationalities. Last year I went into training with Czechs, Germans and Spaniards. I learnt a lot about equipment and how people are living, you know. It’s very interesting and you have the opportunity of traveling. My English is pretty good so I have no communication issues. I am pretty good at communicating you know. What I like in Romania? The landscape. You have beautiful mountains. We are close to the mountains and they appear very interesting to me. We don’t have anything like this in Belgium.”

Beyond uniforms and hierarchies, NATO is a promise of trust and solidarity where every member plays a vital role in a world, which becomes more interconnected and vulnerable by the day.

(bill)