Minister of National Defence Angel Tilvar had talks on Thursday with the command teams of the Romanian structures deployed in theaters of operations, as part of the activities organised on the occasion of the celebration of Romanian Army Day.
According to a MApN press release sent to AGERPRES, the talks were also attended by Chief of Defense Staff, General Gheorghita Vlad, and the Commander of the Combined Forces Command, Major General Valerica Vrajescu.
"The command teams of the detachments deployed by the Romanian Army in the EUFOR operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the KFOR operation in Pristina, the EUTM mission in the Central African Republic, the commander of the minelayer and net layer 274 'Vice Admiral Constantin Balescu', a NATO naval group in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the commanders of the Romanian military detachments deployed in Bulgaria and Poland," the press release specifies.
The Defence minister thanked the military, both those on missions in theaters of operations and those stationed abroad, including on individual missions under NATO, EU and UN mandates, for the efforts they make every day and for the way they cooperate with the military in allied and partner countries, congratulated them on the occasion of the Romanian Army Day and wished them success in the missions they are fulfilling.
"We are proud of your accomplishments, achieved in complex conditions, far from home and families. Every working day starts here with going through the reports on the situation of the troops deployed abroad, and every report that shows that there are no problems where you are carrying out your missions is in itself excellent news," said Angel Tilvar, quoted in the press release.
He emphasized that the morale, health and discipline of the personnel are at very good levels, according to the reports of each command team.
"These parameters show the quality of your command, as well as the seriousness with which you have prepared yourselves in the country for these missions, for which I congratulate you," Minister Tilvar added.
General Gheorghita Vlad, in his turn, emphasized the good results reported by the commands of the structures deployed in theaters of operations and stressed the need to maintain a high level of vigilance in the coming period, when most detachments are getting used to the new missions, after the end of the rotation period of the troops.
"You are true ambassadors of Romania wherever you act, and I congratulate you for the results achieved in this initial period of your missions. I call on you to remain focused on fulfilling the tasks assigned to you at the same level of performance recorded by previous rotations, in accordance with the rules of engagement and the mandate you have received," said General Vlad, also quoted in the release.
Romania has nearly 600 military personnel deployed in the Western Balkans and is the country with the largest contribution of military personnel to the EUFOR ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, informs the ministry, adding that Romania has "the most important" contribution, with almost 60 military personnel, to the European Union mission in support of the Central African authorities in the areas of strategic advice and education for the security forces (European Union Training Mission in Central African Republic - EUTM RCA).
At present, there are about 1,000 Romanian servicemen in missions and operations under NATO, EU and UN command or mandate, MApN further mentions.