Photo By Adam Holguin | Soldiers assigned to 149th Adjutant General Company (Forward), 438th Military Police...... read more read more
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Soldiers assigned to the 149th Adjutant General Company (Forward), Texas Army National Guard, and the 438th Military Police Company Detachment (Law and Order), and the 907th Engineer Detachment (Firefighting Headquarters), both Army Reserve units, arrived here April 2 after completing nine-month deployments in Romania.
The military units worked at Mihail Kogalniceanu (MK) Air Base providing custom services, law and order for all U.S. forces in Romani and Bulgaria, weapons and tactical training, base security, accountability of U.S. personnel, and firefighting services.
“MK air base, Romania, is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Stell, commander, 907th Eng. Det. (FF). “The installation is there for the purposes of moving NATO troops in and out for whatever missions come up.”
The 149th AG Co. (Fwd.), based out of Wichita Falls, Texas, was responsible for the accountability of all personnel that moved into and out of MK air base, as well as providing VIP escorts to high profile visitors. The unit processed over 6,400 personnel through the air base during their mission.
“We used a tactical personnel system to scan IDs of passengers coming into the airbase. We would scan them in, in-process them, and conduct welcome briefs of the rules of the base,” said 1st Lt. Brett Lancaster, officer-in-charge, 149th AG Co. (Fwd.). “The unit did really well. We never had any issues as far as accomplishing the mission; everything got done.”
The 907th Eng. Det. (FF) provided firefighting services for MK Air Base, a mission they excelled at performing.
“We provided structural fire protection for the facilities,” Stell said. “The good thing is that fire prevention was taken very seriously, but then there are no fires. So, as firefighters, we kind of defeated our own purpose.”
The 438th MP Co. Det. (LO), headquartered in Salt Lake City, provided a variety of services and training while working closely with host nation forces, an interaction that provided an insight to the Romanians.
“It was a very unique experience. I have worked with a lot of host nations. I’ve been to Iraq and Afghanistan and we never quite jived this much,” said Staff Sgt. Randy Clark, senior desk sergeant, 438th MP Co. Det. (LO), who completed his fifth deployment. “The Romanians worked with us hand in hand. We could have been the same unit. The communication was great, we learned a lot from them and they learned a lot from us.”
Interacting with different cultures was one of the main takeaways for the American Soldiers who completed the missions.
“Romania has been a democracy for over 20 years now, but everywhere you look in that country you can still see the communism and what it does to a country,” Clark said. “They are clawing their way out of it and it is amazing to see the resiliency that they have. I have a lot of respect for the Romanian people.”
As western influence slowly makes its way into Romanian society, it was clear that their culture affected the U.S. Soldiers.
“Romania is such a beautiful place. I have seen more love in nine months in Romania than I have seen in 28 years,” said Sgt. Chearonne Allen, 149th AG Co. (Fwd.). “Every family walks. From baby to grandpa and grandma together in the street holding hands. You can see the love they have for each other—every family. It’s like what it used to be (in America) before cell phones and constant technology. And, I miss that.”
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.14.2016 13:12 |
| Story ID: | 195403 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US |
| Hometown: | WICHITA FALLS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 417 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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