Photo By Sgt. Brenda Smith | Lt. Gen. Stefan Danila, Romania’s Chief of Defense, tours the 187th Fighter Wing to...... read more read more
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ALABAMA - The National Guard’s State Partnership Program is a program that pairs developing allied armed forces with a state National Guard for mentoring and training. This federally funded program allows Alabama National Guard personnel to train with their Romanian counterparts.
The Alabama National Guard has been partnered with Romania for almost 20 years. During this time, Alabama Guardsmen have been building a relationship with the Romanians, learning from and teaching each other. For the first time in the history of this partnership, the Romanian Chief of Defense, Lt. Gen. Stefan Danila, came to visit Alabama and see for himself the capabilities of the Alabama National Guard.
Danila visited several key locations in the Alabama Guard. He was accompanied by Romania’s 2nd Infantry Division Commander, Brig. Gen. Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca, and Maj. Lucian Indolean of the Ministry of National Defense- International Affairs.
The visitors received briefings and tours at several unit locations across the state to include the Alabama National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, 117th Air Refueling Wing, the 187th Fighter Wing, the 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), and the Pre-mobilization Training Assistance Element training site at Fort McClellan Army National Guard Training Center. They also met with Alabama’s governor, Robert Bentley.
“We are at a point in our partnership where both sides are drawing down from deployments, and both of us need to decide the direction to go to maintain skills and equipment gained during [Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom],” said Lt. Col. Shannon Hancock, State Partnership Program Director. “The Romanians are very interested in exploring how to start a National Guard or Reserve force to reduce their military costs.”
“Alabama's partnership with Romania is critical as that country moves from an all active force to an active/reserve structure that provides a robust military capability while conserving resources,” said Brig. Gen. Allen Harrell, Director of the Joint Staff, Alabama National Guard. “The relationship is fruitful for Alabama as well, providing an ongoing opportunity for our soldiers and airmen to work with those of an allied nation and preserve the skills needed to succeed in multinational operations.”
| Date Taken: | 09.25.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2012 16:26 |
| Story ID: | 95281 |
| Location: | AL, US |
| Web Views: | 466 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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