Spanish Marines at the Dacian Spring exercise in Romania
An overview of the Dacian Spring 2025 exercise
Agenția Media a Armatei, 11.06.2025, 14:00
Last month, Romania hosted the Dacian Spring 2025multinational exercise, planned and led by NATO’s Multinational Division South-East Command in Bucharest. The exercise brought together approximately 4,000 soldiers from ten allied states and over 900 pieces of equipment. Exercises took place in the training centers of Smârdan, Cincu, Bogata, Capu Midia and Frecăței. Forces from Romania, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and Spain took part. The main objectives of the exercise were to practice a collective defense operation and strengthen the integration of forces into the NATO command and control framework. The exercises contributed to improving the response capacity and interoperability between allies, with the observance of Romania’s international commitments.
At the Frecăței training range (east), Romanian and Spanish soldiers simulated the repelling of an enemy attack according to a well-defined scenario. The forces involved used helicopters, Piranha armored personnel carriers, boats and armored gunships, in an unprecedented mobilization of forces. More details from Miguel, one of the Spanish soldiers in the NATO Battle Group deployed to Romania:
“These were exciting days. We crossed the river from multiple directions. We used this bridge and also some inflatable boats to cross faster. We didn’t have many opportunities to get to know our Romanian partners, but when we performed the exercise with the boats, they were the ones who took the lead and displayed professionalism. They explained very clearly everything we had to do, what happens if someone falls overboard. They are very well prepared and it was a pleasant experience to work together. Also, when I accompanied them to the mountains, some time ago, they taught us several survival techniques: how to walk through the snow, how to build a shelter to spend the night in the forest. And here they presented us with all the capabilities of a marine operating on a river, because we are used with fighting at sea, and here things work a little differently”.
Lieutenant David Martin Blazquez from the Spanish Marine Infantry Company deployed in Romania also spoke to us about the mission that the Spanish military is carrying out in our country:
“We were deployed in Romania last November and we will remain in the area for approximately six to seven months. Our mission here is to deter and defend, according to the orders of NATO forces, in order to maintain peace in Europe. We usually work together with the Romanians and also with the French in different maneuvers. It was a great experience to discover things about Romania that I did not know before. For example, the history of Romania. I was delighted to hear the stories related to Dracula and Vlad Țepeș”.
The Dacian Spring 2025 exercise reflected the solid commitment of the Romanian Army to national defense and regional cooperation, the participation of structures from all categories of the armed forces and the efficient coordination with allies, contributing to maintaining a climate of security in the region. (VP)
