U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, the commanding general of V Corps, concluded a two-day visit to Romania Feb. 10, where he met with key military leaders in Cincu and Sibiu to advance shared security interests and reinforce the strong defense partnership between the United States and Romania.
The visit, which included engagements with Romanian Land Forces leadership, focused on upcoming training opportunities in Romania.
"Our shared commitment to regional security and NATO's deterrence posture is powerfully demonstrated when we train side-by-side with our Allies," said Lt. Gen. Costanza. "This visit is about advancing our shared vision to increase readiness and lethality of our forces. It sends a powerful message of strength and unity."
Costanza’s discussion with Romania Land Forces Commander Lt. Gen. Ciprian Marin centered on efforts to expand training capability and capacity at Smardan Training Area in central Romania.
Last week, a U.S. M1A2 Abrams platoon from 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, conducted a tank gunnery there alongside Romanian soldiers. Romania recently purchased and is expected to receive its own set of M1A2 Abrams tanks later in the year. The training event was intended to test Smardan Training Area’s suitability for future training opportunities.
During the visit, Lt. Gen. Costanza met with Lt. Gen. Ciprian Marin, chief of the Romanian Land Forces, to align on the path forward.
"We recognize these are significant but essential steps toward our shared goal," Costanza stated. "V Corps is fully committed to this partnership. By working together, we will enhance the readiness and interoperability of both our nations' forces.”
In addition to bilateral talks, Lt. Gen. Costanza met with Lt. Gen. Cristian-Daniel Dan, commander of the NATO Multinational Corps South-East (MNC-SE), to discuss V Corps' role in the broader regional security architecture. The leaders discussed V Corps' potential support for the upcoming NATO exercises and clarified command relationships to ensure seamless cooperation in the event of a crisis.
Costanza also attended the culminating live-fire event for the Dynamic Front 26 exercise in Cincu, Romania. Dynamic Front 26 is the U.S. Army’s premier artillery and fires interoperability exercise in Europe, designed to rehearse NATO regional plans and integrate multi-domain effects across a distributed battlefield.
About V Corps:V Corps is the U.S. Army's only forward-deployed corps, serving as the senior tactical headquarters in Europe to deter conflict, train alongside NATO allies, and provide combat-ready forces, if necessary, to defend the alliance's eastern flank. V Corps is operationalizing and expanding the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line with Allies, rapidly integrating emerging technologies into training and tactical plans.