Minister Angel Tilvar stated on Wednesday that the Romanian Army is currently „one of the most respected armies in NATO”, proving that it can provide solid security and defense not only at home, but also in the most difficult theatres of operations in the world, where it acted, many times, alongside the American army, write Agerpres.
According to a release from the Defense Ministry (MApN) sent to AGERPRES, Minister Angel Tilvar, the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, and the head of the National Guard of the American state of Alabama, Major General Sheryl E. Gordon, participated on Wednesday in the ceremony organized at the MApN headquarters for the celebration of three decades since the signing of the State Partnership Program between the Romanian Army and the National Guard of the American state of Alabama.
On this occasion, according to the quoted source, the minister of national defense presented Major General Sheryl E. Gordon with „The National Order of Faithful Service in the rank of Knight, with the sign of peace, for the military”. The distinction was conferred by decree signed by the President of Romania, „as a sign of high appreciation of the professionalism and devotion shown for the development of bilateral military cooperation between Romania and the United States of America”.
In his address during the ceremony, Minister Angel Tilvar pointed out that the signing of the partnership between the Romanian Army and the Alabama National Guard, on July 14, 1993, represented a cornerstone on which the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership was built.
Minister Tilvar highlighted the high degree of interoperability achieved in the activities carried out jointly by the military structures of the armies of Romania and the United States, a level also demonstrated during the Saber Guardian 23 exercise, the largest multinational drill planned on the territory of our country this year, which is still in progress.
In his intervention, the Chief of the Defense Staff showed that Military-to-Military activities, organized in the format of the Partnership Program, can be given as an example of good practice in the field of international military cooperation relations . The joint Romanian-American activities materialized, over time, in a platform for the progressive development of the training process.
General Daniel Petrescu emphasized that, after three decades, the partnership remains a way of excellent cooperation between the Romanian military and the American allies.
Major General Sheryl E. Gordon, head of the National Guard of the American state of Alabama, stated that although the world has changed fundamentally in the last 30 years, one thing has remained unchanged in the essence of this partnership – the desire to be together.
„This spirit of closeness allows us to act in perfect synchronization together with our partners in any mission, wherever and whenever needed. Through the skills we share, through the exchange of operating procedures and techniques, through the relationships we build, we prove that, no matter what awaits us in the future on the battlefields, we will win – together”, emphasized, during the ceremony, Major General Sheryl E. Gordon.
