For the first time, Romanian Naval Forces have assumed the Command of a NATO Standing Naval Group.
Commander Valentin-Cătălin Vlad of the Romanian Naval Forces took command of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) from Italian Navy Captain Alessandro Falcone.
The event took place in Constanta, a Romanian city bordering the Black Sea, during the Operational Handover and Change of Command ceremony presided by Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Jeanette Morang, Commander Surface Forces NATO.
SNMCMG2 will initiate their annual operational plan with a deployment in the Black Sea region before entering the Mediterranean Sea to demonstrate NATO’s commitment to strengthen its military posture while enhance interoperability and cooperation with Allies and NATO partners.
The Group now led by Commander Vlad aboard flagship ROS Vice Admiral Constantin Bălescu, includes minehunters TCG Akçay (Turkey) and BGS Priboy (Bulgaria).
“Thank you Alessandro, you and your team have helped to project a visible and constant reminder of NATO’s solidarity and cohesion afloat in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea” said Commodore Jeanette Morang, Commander Surface Forces NATO.
“Commander Vlad, your country and your city are witnessing a moment of great significance. You and your team must be very proud, to be the first Romanian command of Standing Naval Forces.”
Don’t Romania still have a couple of Type 22 frigates?
Yeah Coventry and London went to them, still show in active service
Yup, one of them was on the Channel 5 programme Warship: Life at Sea with HMS Duncan…
They still look good to be honest and the last I read the Romanians are looking to upgrade them. They currently have a couple of guns and a helicopter, which makes the weapon fit for T31 look positive lavish!!!
HMS Sikh carried the King of Romania to the UK in 1939. Romania was neutral, Axis and Allied during WW2. When Nigel Farage (married to a German) was blowing his racist Brexit Trumpet, little did he realize that Romania was actually neutral and allied for a good half of WW2.
Will UK dual Romanian citizens be required to give up their UK passports, as dual nationality UK spouses of armed forces in Germany will?
Romania is like Liverpool. It gets it fair share of abuse and clouding of the facts, so this command will be a good step forwards for bringing unity in Europe after such divisiveness from the hands of bullies like Boris, Farage, Piers Morgan, TheSun etc.
The Romanians don’t have a phone-hacking tabloid right-wing press, so I should imagine NATO will be in better hands with the Romanians than with us.