BUCHAREST, Romania -- Members of 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element participated in a Multi-National Division-South East Command staff exercise Feb. 11-12 at the MND-SE headquarters here.
“I am very happy to have 4th ID members here in Bucharest,” said Romanian Brig. Gen. Ovidiu Uifaleanu, MND-SE commander. “I know that you being here will have a very important contribution to our staff internal and cross-functional processes.”
The purpose of this staff exercise included assisting with SOP development, sharing lessons learned from 4th Inf. Div.’s RSOI (reception, staging, onward movement and integration) of U.S. forces, identifying further integration opportunities with MND-SE, and facilitating enduring U.S.-Romanian synchronization across all warfighting functions, said Maj. Royce Baker, 4th Inf. Div. MCE Chief of Fires.
Also in attendance were Col. Catalin Ticulescu, Romanian NATO Force Integration Unit commander, and members of his NFIU unit.
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, plus numerous multi-national exercises.
“I think that the presence of 4th Inf. Div. staff will help give a different perspective on NATO and international operations as we try to reach a common understanding of the shared values as members of the North-Atlantic alliance,” said Uifaleanu of the staff exercise.
During the two-day event, 4th Inf. Div. MCE participants shared their knowledge of division staff operations with their respective host-nation counterparts to help refine MND-SE staff functions like communications, logistics and operations.
“I think it’s awesome to share what we have established in the MCE with MND-SE,” said Cpt. William Morgan, battle captain, 4th Inf. Div. MCE. “Now they (MND-SE staff) can take this information plus their real-world experiences and apply it to their tactics and procedures for future operations. I think they’re going to be very successful.”
4th Inf. Div. MCE and MND-SE united not only to share information but to build an enduring relationship to improve the interoperability of both nations.
“During the staffex, a great volume of information was successfully exchanged,” said Uifaleanu. “Our personal-human interrelations and shared experiences will enable us to reach the required capabilities for planning and conducting operations in a multinational environment.”