The ceremony of return home of the military from the 811th Infantry Battalion Dragonii Transilvani occurred today, February 21, in Dej in the presence of the Minister of Defense, Sorin Frunzaverde and the Chief of the General Staff, Admiral Gheorghe Marin.

During the solemn call the roll, all the 405 military who acted between August 2006 and February 2007 in Dhi Qar region, Iraq, answered present.

The commander of this Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Tudorel Dragonici underlined the fact that his military made their duty and successfully continued the missions of the previous Romanian Detachments. The partners from the Multinational Coalition acting in Iraq appreciated in different occasions that they felt safety knowing the Romanian Battalion on the South-Eastern flank.

Minister Sorin Frunzaverde thanked the Lieutenant Colonel Dragonici for bringing his men safety at home and wished them welcome home, to us, in Ardeal, in Romania.

For more than six months, the Dragonii Transilvani participated in the effort of stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq, within the Multinational Division South East, deployed in Tallil. The Battalion performed more than 1, 200 missions of patrol, search, escort, guard and security of the deploying areas, humanitarian actions and medical missions.

Dragonii Transilvani have special professional expertise gained in the international missions in Kosovo (BELUKROKOS-2002) and Iraq (ANTICA BABILONIA-2003). They are replaced in the Iraqi theater of operation by their colleagues from the 495th Infantry Battalion Captain Stefan Soverth, from Bucharest.

MoD Spokesperson