Future Commandant visits BSRF Marines and sailors

Courtesy Photo | Lieutenant Gen. Robert B. Neller, commander of U.S. Marine Forces Command and U.S. Marine Forces Europe and confirmed 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps, speaks with Marines and sailors with the Black Sea Rotational Force during his visit at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, Aug. 16, 2015. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division assumed responsibility for the current rotation of BSRF and will spend the next several months training with partner nations to forge stronger bonds and strengthen regional security. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by LCpl. Melanye E. Martinez/Released)  

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, ROMANIA

08.18.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Wayne Edmiston 

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa     

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania - Lt. Gen. Robert B. Neller, Commander of U.S. Marine Forces Command and U.S. Marine Forces Europe and confirmed 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps, visited Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, Aug. 16, 2015, to engage with Marines and sailors with Black Sea Rotational Force.

The service members play a vital role in the winter rotation of BSRF and will spend the next several months training with partner nations to forge stronger bonds and strengthen regional security, explained Neller.

During his visit, Lt. Gen. Neller discussed his expectations of those gathered around him, and challenged them to strive to their full potential.

“You’ve got a chance to see another part of the world that you probably would have never gotten a chance to see,” Neller said. “Some places your friends back home couldn’t find on a map.”

Neller had a question-and-answer session with the Marines and sailors and iterated their importance to the security and stability of the region.

“You have to be the most professional, confident, disciplined and fit, and the most ferocious warriors that they have ever met in their lives,” Neller said. “That’s a lot for me to ask of you, but I wouldn’t ask it if I didn’t think you could do it. They want to train with the best? Roger that.”

BSRF is a biannual rotation which acts as a Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Force through conducting military-to-military engagements and enabling the continuation of regional stability, increasing interoperability, and building and maintaining relationships with allied and partner nations.

• Date Taken: 08.18.2015
• Date Posted: 08.18.2015 07:24
• Story ID: 173446
• Location: MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, RO
• Hometown: EAST LANSING, MI, US