Rehearsals for Greater Union Centennial parade continue at Arcul de Triumf

Rehearsals for the December 1 Greater Union centennial parade in Bucharest continued on Saturday at Arcul de Triumf, the Triumphal Arch, the venue for the parade, to correct some elements in the event's schedule.

"There are a few elements we need to correct like coordination among detachments and among the troops that will be showcasing hardware and those parading on foot, and we hope that at the second rehearsals (...) we get the coordination right,' said Lieutenant General Adrian Tonea, commander of the National Day Military Parade, deputy chief of Defence Staff.

According to General Tonea, there are some novelties like the Piranha 5armored carrier, logistic support, some detachments that recall the historical traditions of the Romanian Army, "all centered on the theme of this year's parade, the Centennial of teh December 1, 1918 Greater Union."

He added that preparations for this event have two components: one in the barracks where the military units are deployed - from preventive maintenance on the military hardware to operational maintenance, and a second one that concerns individual and group training at the barracks from where detachments will be deployed to the Bucharest garrison.

More than 4,000 troops will march under the Triumphal Arch on December 1, the National Day of Romania and this year the Centennial of the Greater Union, and for the first time detachments will participate that remind of the traditions of the Romanian people, according to Tonea.

"I want to begin by highlighting the inter-institutional effort to prepare for this event, the national military parade, and the symbolism of this year's parade is centered on the Centennial of the December 1, 1918 Greater. For the first time there will be a series of detachments to recall the traditions of the Romanian people, their WWI battles for the reunification of Romania. This year, the military parade will be attended by some 500 foreign soldiers organised in 21 detachments from 20 countries, along with more than 200 pieces of military equipment and hardware of the Romanian Armed Forces as well as of the attending partner and allied countries. Last but not least, over 50 airplanes will fly above the Triumphal Arch, and at the end of the military parade the Gendarmerie cavalry will be deployed, alongside, for the first time as well, a detachment of volunteers, the cavalry of the Ministry of National Defence," Tonea said at the rehearsal of the Centennial parade that took place at the Ghencea training ground.

At the same time, he assured that all scheduled airplanes will fly over the venue of the parade come rain or shine

"All scheduled airplanes planned to fly will fly: the IAR-330H helicopters, the IAR-99 Soim, the F-16s, the F-18 helicopters of the Canadian Armed Forces, the C-130 Hercules, the Spartan, and last but not least the Acrobatic Icarus aerobatic pilots. The MIGs will fly to over other areas in the country where local military parades will take place," said Tonea. AGERPRES (RO - author: Sorin Penes, editor: Catalina Matei; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)