First rotation into Romania set for June

[unhappycamper]

First rotation into Romania set for June
By Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, April 15, 2008

STUTTGART, Germany — A staff of commanders and planners will travel to Romania in May to begin to implement the first training of U.S. troops under the new Joint Task Force East. A battalion-sized task force — about 700 to 800 soldiers — will deploy in June, marking the first official rotation of U.S. troops under a U.S.-Romania agreement.

A second battalion of U.S. forces would deploy in August to neighboring Bulgaria. Each training mission would last about two months and pair U.S. troops with troops from the host nation.

The training in convoy operations, small-unit patrols, recognition of improvised bombs, and other disciplines is designed to help U.S., Romanian and Bulgarian forces perform better both together and separately, according to Lt. Col. Richard Spiegel, a spokesman with U.S. Army Europe.

Last August, U.S. forces, including about 350 from Baumholder, Germany’s 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment, participated in a “proof of principle” exercise in Romania to test if the nations were ready to begin continuous training events.

“We believed we proved the principle,” Spiegel said. “This year is the rotation and we’re ready to make that work as well.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54054