Resolute Castle '17 opens with US, Romanian unity

Photo By Sgt. Nicholas Vidro | U.S. Army Col. Paul Mattern, commander of the 926th Engineer Brigade, and Romanian Brig. Gen. Gheorghe Soare, commander of the Romanian 10th Engineer Brigade, exchange gifts after the opening ceremony for Resolute Castle 2017 at Cincu Training Center, Romania on April 14. The commanders emphasized a strong sense of unity and cohesion for their respective forces working together as a new cycle of Resolute Castle begins. Bonds of friendship like this showcase the effectiveness of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a NATO mission involving the U.S. and Europe in a combined effort to enhance bonds of friendship and deter aggression. (Photo by Army Pvt. Nicholas Vidro, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

CINCU TRAINING AREA, ROMANIA

04.14.2017

Story by Pvt. Nicholas Vidro 

7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

CINCU TRAINING AREA, Romania –The army engineer is the force in front of the fighter, and responsible in seeing that the Soldier stays mobile in training and on the battlefield. With a new cycle of the Resolute Castle mission beginning, the importance of engineers was highlighted with an opening ceremony dedicated to the U.S. and Romanian combined efforts on April 14, 2017 at Cincu Training Area, Romania

The third iteration of Resolute Castle was kicked off with remarks from the brigade commanders of both U.S. and Romanian troops as they commended the soldiers on their ability to work together as well as highlighting the overall importance of their mission, whose objective is to build the ranges that units will train on.


Not only do combined forces train together for combat, they also train to support one another on and off the battlefield. This is a crucial element to Operation Atlantic Resolve, a NATO mission between the U.S. and its European Allies and partners to support regional stability and promote peace in Europe.


The ceremony was a chance for a new U.S. task force, formed from the 926th Engineer Brigade and the 391st Engineer Battalion, to meet the Romanian engineers responsible for running Cincu as well as their commander. Romanian Brig. Gen. Gheorghe Soare, commander of the Romanian 10th Engineer Brigade, had some important remarks for both forces before they embarked on this year's mission.


“This is a great opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder, and last but not least, build a strong friendship,” he said during his speech.


Currently the U.S. and Romanian forces are conducting operations on the base, but a British contingent is expected to join them in the coming months. Each nation's flag was raised to symbolize the unity between the Allies and gifts were exchanged between U.S. and Romanian commanders in a moment of camaraderie, showing a commitment to continue this important engineering mission.

The combined forces of the U.S. and the United Kingdom were welcomed into Romania with open arms during the ceremony. Romanian forces were ready to resume working alongside their Allies to complete on-going projects as well as beginning new ones. Romanian Capt. Vlad Verdes, commander of the Romanian 52nd Engineer Detachment spoke on what he hopes will come from this year's Resolute Castle.

“Most of our engineers are experienced, but when they hear that we will be working together they are very glad because it gives them a chance to become more familiar with American procedures,” he said.

Resolute Castle was started in 2015 and has proven successful in improving the training infrastructure across Romania for U.S. and Romanian troops. The engineers from both countries regularly work on physically improving a multitude of range operations, including non-standard firing lanes and breach facilities.

After speeches were made and gifts were exchanged, Romanian and U.S. forces gathered together for a group photo to showcase the growing alliance between forces. U.S. Army Col. Paul Mattern, commander of the 926th Engineer Brigade, best summed up what this partnership hopes to accomplish.

“We strive to develop an alliance that is full of character, actions and ideals,” he said

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U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51st country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnership and enhance global security.

• Date Taken: 04.14.2017
• Date Posted: 04.14.2017 10:26
• Story ID: 230373
• Location: CINCU TRAINING AREA, RO