The 71st Mechanized Battalion “Sibiřský” in Hranice is part of an international brigade included into the NATO Response Force (NRF) together with battalions from Spain, Poland and Great Britain from January 2019 till December 2021. Within NRF, it has been enforced by an infantry company of the 811th Battalion of the Romanian Armed Forces. The cooperation, however, doesn’t end here. Romania has become the next partner country of the NATO Days, and this weekend you can see a wide spectrum of equipment of this country at the Leoš Janáček Airport.

Picture: You can see a wide spectrum of the military equipment of the Romanian Armed Forces on the NATO Days (the picture shows the C-27J Spartan two-motor midsize cargo airplane on service of the Romanian Air Force) |  Wikimedia Commons

“We concentrate tactic preparation in our conditions especially on combat in open ground and woods, as well as in built-up areas; now the soldiers have a unique possibility to try out a strategy of combat activities in mountains and absolutely unknown environment,“ explains the meaning of the exercise Senior Warrant Officer of the 71st Mechanized Battalion Warrant Officer Aleš Machálka and adds: “Soldiers on the positions of squad commanders, assistant platoon commanders and platoon commanders, could determine their limits when proceeding in mountains on big distances with the maximum possible speed and consequential combat manoeuvres.“

The Czech soldiery in cooperation with their Romanian colleagues have also tried out climbing and abseiling in mountains, including traversing across a 100-meter long valley at height of 30 meters above the ground. Precisely the possibility to practice in specific mountain environment, which we don’t have in the Czech Republic, has been evaluated by the soldiers from Hranice as a big contribution of the Transylvania Dragon exercise.

Picture: The Czech soldiers in cooperation with their Romanian colleagues have also tried out climbing and abseiling in mountains | army.cz

“The main content of the exercise was, however, common combat manoeuvres. The exercise has culminated with a long redeployment in mountains with the whole utilities for combating in the day and night time. The maximum attention was paid to the common preparation, planning and proper performance of separate operations,“ explains First Lieutenant Martin Dostálek, who was in command of the Czech unit. The provided background, conditions and proper organization of the exercise were extra-ordinarily ensured by the Romanian party. The both parties have already planned its next continuation: the Czech soldiers are going to repeatedly go to Romania to train a battle in mountains in the winter conditions, and after that a Romanian unit will come to our training area. Thanks to high-quality cooperation, units of NRF and VJTF cover a wide spectrum of tasks from quick response to provide collective defence of the Alliance members, through supporting peace operations for the help during disasters and up to the protection of important infrastructures.

Picture: The main content of the exercise was, however, common combat manoeuvres | army.cz

It is worth mentioning that for a long time cooperation of the both countries is at a very high level, as illustrated by the fact that Romania became a partner country of the NATO Days with an extensive demonstration of equipment, where you can see, among other, a pair of Mig-21 from the 86th Aviation Base, IAR 99 Șoim light aircraft and IAR 330 Puma helicopters from the 95th Aviation Base, a trio of C-27J Spartan cargo aircraft from the 90th Aviation Base, but also mobile anti-aircraft guns, Piranha III wheeled armoured vehicles, a mobile hospital, a command post and others.

Picture: The IAR 330 Puma helicopter on service of the Romanian Armed Forces | Wikimedia Commons