Information and Public Relations Directorate
E-mail: presamapn@mapn.ro
Contact: 021-319.60.22
Official opening of the “Proof of Principle 2007” Exercise
The official opening of the Romanian-American “Proof of Principle 2007” exercise occurred today, August 17, at “Mihail Kogalniceanu” Air Base HQ, Constanta County.
The military ceremony, the first of this type that was organized on the Romanian territory since the arrival of the US military, consisted in a religious ceremony performed by the Romanian military priest of the 341st Infantry Battalion and the US military priest of the “Deep Steel” Task Force. The ceremony continued with: the alignment of Flags in formation, the tune of the Romanian and American Hymns, the presentation of honor, and the speech of the exercise co-director.
Commander of the Joint Task Force East, Colonel Peri Anest, the “Proof of Principle” co-director for the American partnership and Colonel Eugen Romanescu, Romanian co-director of the exercise, military Romanian and American personalities and representatives of the local administration participated in this event.
Colonel Peri Anest stated: “This exercise will offer the important possibility of command and troops training in a combined multinational environment and joint task forces. In the same time it will strengthen the interoperability and the military relations for the success in the present and future conditions.”
Colonel Eugen Romanescu appreciated this exercise as the beginning of a new stage in our troops’ training, one of the main aims of the Army in 2007 being the effectiveness of our military training according to the saying ”we train as we fight”.
The exercise mainly aims to check the potential of the Romanians and the Americans training in common, and to increase our forces’ interoperability. Joint Romanian-American sub-units will have missions of search, urban operations, ambushes and reactions to ambushes, patrols of presence, first aid, and traffic check points.
The Romanian participating troops will be of 270 military, at the most.
Starting today, August 17, a Public Information Center will work within the “Proof of Principle 2007” exercise.
MoD Press Office