The Minister of National Defence, Mr. Corneliu Dobritoiu, participated in the military ceremony marking the deployment of the troops of the 2nd Maneuver Battalion in the theater of operations in Afghanistan, organized in Curtea de Arges, on Wednesday, 18 July.

'The Mountain Troops are the elite forces of the Romanian military, which were disbanded by the Soviet military, during the Stalinist occupation of Romania, at the end of WW 2. With the European security crisis of 1968, the Prague Spring, the communist leader of the country understood the need to reestablish these troops. They are the ones securing the crests and valleys of our Carpathian Mountains. They are the backbone of this country`s defence vector', Minister Corneliu Dobritoiu pointed out.

Speaking of the ceremony, the defence minister said it was 'touching and meaningful. These are the men with dignity, not the ones denigrating Romania. They are the vectors of the positive image in Romania. Ever since the time we were working to become NATO members and I know it only too well, as I was leading the structure of the defence ministry in charge with the process, they have been adding value to our work, not like those denigrating us at the corners of Europe'.

The about 620 troops whose mission will be conducted in Zabul Province, from July 2012 to February 2013, come mainly from the 33rd 'Posada' Mountain Battalion.

Beside the families of the troops about to deploy, the event was attended by the chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General, Stefan Danila, representatives of local authorities, civilian and military officials.

MoND Press Office