Marines with 3rd Platoon, Ground Combat Element, Black Sea Rotational Force 12, participated in a tactics exchange with Romanian soldiers in Timisoara, Romania, Marine Corps News reports.
“This training is a great opportunity to exchange information about our tactics and enhance interoperability for future missions,” said Staff Sgt. Kirby G. Fanus, platoon sergeant, 3rd Platoon, GCE, BSRF-12. “We are now more aware of how each other operate and we look forward to working with them again.”
Some of the Romanian soldiers already know what it’s like to serve alongside Marines in combat from previous tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. They welcome the training as added knowledge they can use for the future as some of them may be going to Afghanistan within the year.
“This training is important to them because they see American Marines as the most elite fighting force in the world,” said, Cpl. Matthew L. Fuentes, assistant team leader and squad sniper, 3rd Platoon, GCE, BSRF-12. “They’re very receptive to everything we say to them because we have proven ourselves on the battlefield and off. Some have seen it on TV but they all see it in person now by how we carry ourselves.”
The training is part of the Black Sea Rotational Force’s six-month deployment which includes training with 19 nations planned throughout the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucuses regions.
The Black Sea Rotational Force is a Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force with crisis response capabilities deployed to the region to enhance interoperability, promote regional stability and build camaraderie amongst the forces.