4th ID strengthes ties with Romanian NFIU

Photo By Staff Sgt. Diandra Harrell | Members of 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element visit the recently established Romanian NATO Force Integration Unit headquarters for the first time during a Multinational Division- South East Command staff exchange. “These staff exchanges are opportunities to share our own RSOI [reception, staging, onward movement and integration] and staff SOPs [standard operating procedures], discuss lessons learned from OAR [Operation Atlantic Resolve] rotations, and to assist the development of these organizations across all WfFs [warfighting functions]." (U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell/4th Infantry Division MCE)  

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

02.25.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Diandra Harrell 

4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

BUCHAREST, Romania - Members of 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element visited Romanian NATO Force Integration Unit headquarters Feb. 11-12 to conduct a staff exchange and assess the unit’s progress since the NFIU activated Sept. 3, 2015.

“From the very beginning, last year in June, it was clear we could use the experience in RSOM (reception, staging and onward movement) of the units that have it,” said Col. Catalin Ticulescu, Romania’s NFIU commander. “Therefore, the help offered by 4th ID for MND-SE (Multinational Division- South East) Command and the Romanian NATO Force Integration Unit was more than welcome.”

The Romanian NFIU is part of NATO’s adaptation to security challenges from the east and the south. Other NFIUs are being established in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to represent a visible and persistent NATO presence in these six allied nations.

“The Romania NFIU is a small headquarters that will provide a vital link between national forces and multinational NATO forces and will also have a key role in planning, exercising, and assisting potential reinforcements. The NFIU headquarters will also ensure that NATO’s high-readiness forces can deploy to a region as quickly as possible,” said Ticulescu.

The 4th Infantry Division MCE sent experts in communications, engineering, logistics and operations to the Bucharest headquarters to conduct a direct staff engagement with the Romanian NFIU and assist in moving the unit toward full operational capacity by June.

As the division-level headquarters for Army Europe, the MCE has mission command of all U.S. ground forces conducting operations in support of Atlantic Resolve. Those forces are conducting enhanced multinational training and security cooperation activities that include bilateral training with eastern European allies, and numerous multinational exercises.

“As the 4th Infantry Division MCE is responsible for Operation Atlantic Resolve and does not have a direct relationship with NFIUs, one of our objectives is to facilitate training and communication in order to ensure that they (NFIUs) are able to execute their primary mission of facilitating deployment of very high-readiness joint task forces,” said Maj. Royce Baker, 4th Infantry Division MCE Chief of Fires.

“These staff exchanges are opportunities to share our own reception, staging, onward movement and integration techniques and staff standard operating procedures, discuss lessons learned from Atlantic Resolve rotations, and to assist the development of these organizations across all warfighting functions,” he said.

Baker said the trip to Bucharest was the first of many NFIU integration events that will occur over the next few months.

“This engagement helps each staff to understand the other’s role and responsibilities toward RSOM in Romania and in a European context,” said Ticulescu. “The NFIU’s multinational experience – since the NFIU headquarters is manned already with officers and NCOs from different NATO countries – already possesses a high level of interoperability."

“Simultaneously, the 4th ID experience is based on a deep understanding of European particularities,” he added.

Although newly established, the Romanian NFIU has made great strides in its development, said Baker.

“They have a very impressive facility with outstanding security measures in place. They have a tremendous staff and their commander has a clear, aggressive vision and is extremely confident in their current capacity and their future capability to facilitate operations,” he said.

The 4th Infantry Division is not the only Army Europe unit that has lent a hand to ensure the NFIUs are successfully established.

“The 16th Sustainment Brigade embedded small teams within the NATO force structure to mature the Eastern Europe concept of support during this fiscal year through a deliberate and focused integration with the NATO Multinational Corps-Northeast (MNC-NE), NATO Force Integration Units, and staff-centric operational environment circulation,” said Maj. Orlando L. Torres, 16th Sustainment Brigade tactical command post officer in charge in Poland. “This sets transition conditions for a follow-on sustainment organization in the next fiscal year and to establish a common operational picture between National Defense Plans, NATO and USAREUR.”

The 4th Infantry Division MCE is scheduled to visit all NFIU sites to continue building relationships through shared experience and techniques, said Baker.

“When building something, first steps are very important. This staff exercise in Romania and future engagements will strengthen our bond and transform it into an enduring relationship,” said Baker.

• Date Taken: 02.25.2016
• Date Posted: 02.26.2016 08:49
• Story ID: 190189
• Location: BUCHAREST, RO