BABADAG TRAINING AREA, Romania – U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Nathan Streeter, a platoon sergeant with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment only recently arrived in Romania, but that fact hardly delayed him in leading a training exercise involving U.S. and Romanian forces at Babadag Training Area, March 22, 2017.
The training with the RQ-11 Raven Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was a new step in combined training for both countries as they learned about the many features of the UAV. It will greatly aid both countries on future missions involving aerial surveillance and reconnaissance.
“The Raven gives a unit the ability to have eyes on the ground as a reconnaissance tool, instead of putting troops out on the battlefield in harm’s way,” Streeter said.
The training involving U.S. and Romanian forces is a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a NATO mission that sees the U.S. and its European Allies and partners working closely to promote regional stability and deter aggression. The training was beneficial to both sides since they both use these UAVs. Streeter was quick to point out the importance of the training to the success of OAR.
“We share a lot of the same equipment with our NATO Allies. We can show them how we use our UAVs, they can show us how they use theirs and bounce ideas off of each other to learn from each other,” he said.
The Raven is a breakthrough for both countries when it comes to infantry movement. Operators will be able to survey the area around units and scout ahead, decreasing the danger of intelligence gathering in the field. It will help both the cavalry scouts who currently operate it as well as Romanian mechanized units.
Romanian Lt. Col. Ciprian Lungu, Intelligence Planning Officer of the 282nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade summed up the day’s activity, speaking on how the Romanian military, as well as its Allies and partners, benefit from the Raven’s use.
“The UAVs are a very good opportunity for us to enhance the abilities of our battalions while they gather intelligence on missions,” he said.
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