Moldovan Servicemembers Tested in Germany

Chisinau, November 29, 2013 — The National Army’s participation at international exercises represents the possibility to apply into practice the acquired combat readiness abilities, as well as a test of interoperability, operational capability, a primary aspect in the modernization process of the defense institution of the country.

The statement was made by the Chief of Main Staff, National Army Commander, Col. Igor Gorgan, at the deployment ceremony of the National Army contingent to the multinational training exercise for the Military Advisory Team (MAT) and Police Advisory Team “14-01B MAT/PAT6”, carried out within December 2-18, at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany.

Col. Gorgan asked the servicemembers, that are to leave for Germany, to demonstrate the highest level of professionalism.“What you learned here, in your native country, and the abilities acquired in other three previous missions on Hohenfels training ground, gives you the opportunity to show performance in the established tasks”, the National Army Commander said.

In his turn, the Head of the US Office of Defense Cooperation to Republic of Moldova, Maj. Christopher Rogers, said Moldovan servicemembers had participated at a variety of multinational exercises and missions abroad such as: Sea Breeze, Combined Endeavor, Rapid Trident, as well as peacekeeping missions and everytime, they had been internationally lauded as a very professional, well-trained and capable force. It’s important that your experience contributes to the improvement of the National Army’s operational capabilities as part of your military modernization efforts and your committment to participating in peacekeeping missions", Maj. Rogers stated.

According to LTC Boris Macovei, commander of the Moldovan contingent, the National Army deployed 80 professional soldiers of the 22^nd Peacekeeping Battalion and Fulger Special Forces Battalion to Hohenfels.

The quoted source said that the Moldovan contingent would carry out patrol missions, convoy escort, transportation and support operations along with other partner nations troops. The goal of the exercise is to assess the troops readiness level through rotation within international missions.

The exercise "14-01B MAT/ PAT6"(Military Advisory Team (MAT) and Police Advisory Team) is conducted by the United States Army in Europe and consists of a few phases. Thus, at the first phase, the troops will attend a specialized training with a focus on applying their knowledge into practice using different modern simulators. The second stage will include a joint field and staff exercise carried out in partnering with troops from Bulgaria, Poland, Norway, USA, Ukraine, Macedonia, Afghanistan and Albania.