The American delegation headed by the chief of the Alabama National Guard, Major General Perry Smith, makes an official visit in Romania at the invitation of the chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Stefan Danila.

During the meeting at the defence ministry headquarters, on 8 April, the topics discussed included the cooperation fields between the National Guard of Alabama and the Romanian Air Force, training facilities, the equipment and specific missions as well as the participation of the two structures in international exercises, operations and missions.

'I appreciate the effort of the over 20,000 members of the Alabama National Guard in Afghanistan, in the last ten years as well as their contribution to the fight against terror', the chief of General Staff pointed out.

The two officials also stressed the importance of the cooperation between the two structures within the State Partnership Program.

Major General Perry Smith declared that he wished that this partnership should last and meet its goals irrespective of our countries’ variations of allotted budget.

According to the visit program, the American delegation will meet with troops in different garrisons of the country.

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The cooperation between the Romanian Armed Forces and the National Guard of Alabama unfolds under the aegis of the State Partnership Program, initiated in 1994. As of 2011, the cooperation was taken to a higher level that involves a larger dialogue and American assistance in fields of real interest for the Romanian military, such as operating F-16 aircraft, the support of the host-nation for the Air Forces, developing the facilities at Campia Turzii Air Base, training of Land Forces and joint forces, improving the legal basis related to medical assistance for soldiers injured in theaters of operations, support for the families of troops deployed to theaters of operations, also operational medicine and Military Police.

MoND Press Office