Joint Task Force-East

U.S. and Romanian military personnel complete water purification training

By Pfc. Charles J. Thompson
August 24, 2009

U.S. and Romanian military personnel complete water purification training (Photo: JTF-E)

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania – As part of the 2009 Joint Task Force-East training rotation, 25 Romanian Land Forces military personnel completed a month of training Thursday on the Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) conducted by Soldiers of the U.S. Army 240th Quartermaster Company headquartered in Bamberg, Germany.

Five U.S. Soldiers trained Romanian Land Forces of the Water Purification Detachment of the 3rd Engineer Battalion to set up, operate, trouble-shoot and configure three different size purification systems. They learned how to purify salt water using the 3,000 gallon system, the 600 gallon system and the light weight purification system. U.S. and Romanian military forces trained at the Capu Midia Training Camp in the village of Corbu, near the Black Sea shoreline. The close proximity of the camp allowed the group to desalinate and purify the salt water making it safe to drink.

“I can now call them ‘bonified water dogs’,” said Sgt. 1st Class Sonia Anderson, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the ROWPU section. “We managed to overcome our language barriers, and while our initial objective was to train them while building allied cohesion, we became a brotherhood that we will not forget.”

JTF-East began in 2007, and the purpose is to build interoperability capabilities and develop relationships with other militaries. More than 3,800 Romanian, Bulgarian, U.S. troops and civilians are participating in the three-month exercise through the end of October.

Our Soldiers made great friends with the Romanian military personnel, said 1st Sgt. Jason C. Marcum, of the 240th QMC. “This was the opportunity of a lifetime and we really strengthened our relationship with our allies.”

The ROWPU Soldiers will return to Germany, Aug. 27, and begin preparing for an upcoming mission in the Horn of Africa.

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