Joint Task Force-East

Romanian president visits Joint Task Force-East

By JTF-E Public Affairs
August 25, 2009

The president of Romania, Traian Basescu, shakes hands with U.S. Army Gen. Carter F. Ham (right) today at Mihail Kogalniceanu Airfield, Romania. Chairman of the Romanian Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Gheorghe Marin, PhD (left), and Romanian Minister of National Defense, Mihai Stanisoara (second from right) and Ham visited the training area to learn more about Joint Task Force-East. (Photo by Romanian Land Forces Sgt. 1st Class Andrei Ilie, Joint Task Force-East PAO)

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania – The president of Romania, Traian Basescu, and other distinguished guests visited U.S. and Romanian Land Force servicemembers participating in the 2009 Joint Task Force-East (JTF-East) military exercise at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Airfield today.

U.S. Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, the commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Chairman of the Romanian Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Gheorghe Marin, PhD, Romanian Minister of Defense Mihai Stanisoara, and Jeri Guthrie-Corn, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, were among the distinguished guests to visit.

“An extremely important thing is going on here - trust - from the military point of view,” said Basescu, referring to the bi-lateral U.S.-Romanian training of JTF-East.

Servicemembers of both countries presented various examples of their daily training to more than four-dozen military and civic leaders. Presentations included combat lifesaving techniques, a water purification system, virtual weapons training systems, and a Humvee egress and assistance trainer.

Distinguished guests also viewed static displays of U.S. Stryker combat vehicles and Romanian military combat vehicles that are currently part of the training of JTF-East 2009.

"As the unit here is preparing for its next deployment," said Ham, "we get the opportunity to do this (training) alongside and in partnership with our Romanian counterparts. So, in addition to accomplishing mandatory training that we've got to do, we get the added benefit of teaching and learning from our Romanian counterparts - that, to me, is what makes the training so special.”

JTF-East has an integrated operation with over 3,800 Romanian, Bulgarian and U.S. servicemembers and other military and civilian support personnel participating in the three-month exercise through the end of October in the two countries.

The purpose of JTF-East is to build interoperability capabilities and develop relationships with other militaries in regional security cooperation.

U.S. and Romanian servicemembers present information about on-going local humanitarian civic assistance missions to distinguished guests including U.S. Army Gen. Carter F. Ham and Romanian Land Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Dan Ghica-Radu today at Mihail Kogalniceanu Airfield, Romania. As part of Joint Task Force-East, U.S.-Romanian HCA teams have been providing medical, dental and optometry screenings around the area for the past two months. U.S. Navy Seabees have been here for over two years doing HCA construction projects including refurbishing local schools and other community projects. (Photo by Sgt. Marla R. Keown)

Knowing one another, having an understanding of one another's techniques and equipment before deploying to Afghanistan, is extremely important for the cohesion of Romanian and American troops in operational theaters, said Basescu.

JTF-East continues to be on of the U.S. Army Europe’s strategic priorities and plays a key role in the U.S. European Command’s Theater Security Cooperation program. This year marks the JTF-East’s official third annual rotation.

For more information regarding JTF-East, please contact the Public Affairs Office; U.S. PAO, Lt. Col. Daniel Herrigstad; daniel.herrigstad@eur.army.mil; Manuela Stroescu; manuela.stroescu@eur.army.mil.

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