DefMin Ciuca, IntMin Vela visit Romanian troops in Afghanistan

Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca, Interior Minister Marcel Vela, and Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, went to Afghanistan on Tuesday to meet with the Romanian troops. "We really wanted to go to Afghanistan before the winter holidays, to meet with the troops and to send them our message of appreciation for everything they do for the Romanian Army and for the country. These are not meaningless words, but they come in the context in which, talking with the mission leaders ("Resolute Support"), the feedback has been as positive and as praiseworthy as possible for the way in which the Romanian troops fulfill their mission, for their professionalism, for their readiness to effort and willingness to sacrifice, for their camaraderie," said Minister Nicolae Ciuca, according to a release issued on Wednesday to AGERPRES by the Ministry of National Defence (MApN).   According to the quoted source, during the first part of the working visit, the official delegation went to the Kandahar Military Base. The Defence minister met with the troops of the 495th Infantry Battalion "Stefan Soverth", with the detachment that includes the National Support Element, as well as with the troops carrying out missions within the Train Advise Assist Command - South / TAAC- South). Nicolae Ciuca was informed about how the Romanian Army's troops deployed in this region of Afghanistan fulfill their missions and discussed with the servicemen about the state of the equipment and technique they operate with, as well as the important aspects for carrying out missions in the Afghan theatres of operations, the quoted source informs. On the second day, the delegation traveled by the C-27J Spartan aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, from Kandahar to Kabul, where they met with the Romanian military staff deployed in this area. In Kabul, Minister Ciuca met with Lieutenant General Giles Hill, deputy commander of NATO Resolute Support Mission (RSM). During the talks, the security situation in Afghanistan, the current contribution of Romania with forces to the RSM, the sixth country with troop contributors in this theater of operations, the support given by the US forces in Afghanistan to the Romanian military in the theater of operations were analyzed, as well as the intentions of the Multinational Command for 2020, reads the MApN release. According to the release, the Defence minister said that General Giles Hill has the utmost respect for the Romanian military staff and that he is convinced that if any serviceman in the Afghan operation theatres were asked with whom he was confident to carry out his mission, he would answer with certainty, that together with "a Romanian serviceman". In conclusion, the Defence minister said that the visit was very effective: "I saw the situation on-site, we talked to the military staff and we received feedback from them. We will take care of all aspects that need more coordination, more aggregation in techniques and procedures, in providing the best resources and living conditions during deployment to operation theatres and to make the mission here as consistent as possible and the troops to focus only on what they have to accomplish. " AGERPRES (RO - author: Andreea Rotaru, editor: Mirela Barbulescu; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi, editor: Simona Iacob)