Saber Guardian 2017

Romania plays host to one of the largest and most complex NATO exercises in recent years.

Bogdan Matei, 17.07.2017, 12:51

From Cincu, in
the centre, to Mihail Kogalniceanu, in the south-east, many military bases in
Romania are playing host this month to the Saber Guardian 2017 exercise. Hosted
by other neighbouring countries as well and led by the US Army Europe, this is
the largest and most complex exercise carried out on Romanian territory in
recent years, as the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has pointed out.

Around 20 NATO
member and partner states are taking part with a significant number of troops
and technical resources, which, according to the Romanian diplomacy, lends the
exercise an important military role, contributing to the consolidation of
defence and deterrence on the eastern flank of the North-Atlantic Alliance and
the development of interoperability between the participating countries.

The exercise
also represents a confirmation of the solidity of the Trans-Atlantic
relationship and of the bilateral strategic partnership between Romania and the
United States, which was signed 20 years ago, the Foreign Ministry also notes. Lieutenant General Ben
Hodges, the commander
of U.S. Army Europe, also hailed the excellent bilateral military cooperation
and the efforts made by Romania to modernise its army. Bucharest, which he
described as a reliable partner, will this year allocate 2% of the GDP to
defence, said the American army official, who praised the quality of the young
Romanian military and their commanders and their commitment to contributing to
the security of the Black Sea area.

Romania is a consistent and
trustworthy partner, the Czech general Petr Pavel, the Chairman of the NATO
Military Committee, also said. He hailed Romania’s contribution to NATO’s
operations, saying this country is one of top ten contributors to the
Afghanistan mission. Coming from a central-European country occupied by the
Soviets for half a century, general Pavel was keen to emphasise, for Radio
Romania, that NATO’s actions to strengthen its eastern flank are not meant as a
threat to Russia. He said the Alliance simply wishes to be ready at any time to
counteract any potential act of aggression, while being always willing to
engage in dialogue with Russia.

Romania’s president Klaus
Iohannis also attended a Saber Guardian exercise at the shooting range in
Cincu, where the Romanian military trained alongside troops from the United
States, Ukraine, Armenia and Croatia backed by American and Romanian aircraft.

Although the opponent was
unnamed, the exercise comes at a time when the West is concerned about a more
aggressive Russia, notes the American magazine Stars and Stripes, which recalls
that in the last three years, the US has led larger and more intensive
operations meant to boost the ability of allies to fight together.