Canadian Chief of Defense visits Mihail Kogălnicenu military base

Romanian Minister of National Defense, Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă, and Chief of the Defense, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, have received, on Monday, December 23, at the military base Mihail Kogălniceanu, Chief of Defense of the Canadian Army, General Jonathan H. Vance, on official visit to Romania.

During the meeting, the officials addressed issues regarding the security situation in the extended Black Sea region, as well as the stage of cooperation between the armies of Romania and Canada within NATO, UN and OSCE, but also bilaterally.They underlined the coherence of the Romanian-Canadian Partnership in the allied context of the Black Sea region. Romanian officials have appreciated the continued active participation of the Canadian Armed Forces in joint training activities with the Romanian military, especially in air and maritime fields, the presence of Canadian aircraft in consolidated air police missions, and of combat vessels within allied permanent naval groups.

At the end of the meeting, both Minister Nicolae Ionel-Ciucă and Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu thanked General Jonathan H. Vance for the contribution to strengthening the operational capacity of the Romanian Army, for supporting the ongoing regional initiatives, as well as for the support granted to the Romanian detachment that performs aeromedical evacuation in Mali.

During the same event, Major-General Viorel Pană, Chief of General Staff of the Air Force, has decorated 16 Canadian soldiers with the Air Force Emblem of Honor, for the way they performed their missions within the Air Police Detachment, missions carried out in cooperation with the soldiers of the Romanian Air Force.

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Canada is currently participating, with personnel and CF-18 fighter aircraft, in consolidated air police missions, to discourage aggressive actions in the vicinity of national airspace and NATO. Royal Canadian Air Forces have also performed joint missions with the Romanian Air Forces in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018, at Mihail Kogălniceanu and Câmpia Turzii.

In the maritime field, the Canadians have participated in the SEA SHIELD exercise, as well as missions within the tailored Forward Presence (tFP) and Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). Canada contributes with senior staff to NATO units on Romanian territory, Multinational Division South – East (HQ MND-SE) and Multinational Brigade South East. Joint missions ensure development of reaction and deterrent capacity, as part of NATO’s plan to strengthen the Alliance's eastern flank, as well as strengthening interoperability between the Romanian and Canadian air forces.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei