Black Sea Rotational Force
05.30.2011 Story by Cpl. Tatum Vayavananda BABADAG TRAINING AREA, Romania – Romanian marines and soldiers and U.S. Marines with Black Sea Rotational Force 11 recently trained together here in counterinsurgency and peacekeeping operations, improving their skills, sharing their military experiences, and preparing for the many situations that might arise in both countries’ support of the Overseas Contingency Operation in Afghanistan.
Lance Cpl. Adrian Delafuente, a rifleman with Black Sea Rotational Force 11, poses for a picture with two Romanian marines during a “warriors dinner” to celebrate the end of a successful cycle in counterinsurgency and peacekeeping operations. As the U.S. Marines and Romanian marines and soldiers trained together, lived, relaxed, and ate together at BTA, they oftentimes learned that they were not so different, despite their different backgrounds.
But the combined forces not only worked together, they ate, relaxed and lived together at the Babadag training facility, oftentimes learning, that despite their different backgrounds, they were not so different. They were warriors, one and the same.
“We are the only marines in Romania and it’s nice to meet people who have the same values, same mission and objectives,” said Capt. Claudiu Visan, detachment commander, Romanian marines, BSRF-11.
“We made quite a few friends,” said Hale, “Capt. Visan is a good man and excellent warfighter… We had some good times, we cooked out a few times, and I think all the Marines got a chance to make friends and get to know each other,” added the Amarillo, Texas native.
Beyond the training, both sides got the opportunity to share music and movies, stories of their countries’ cultures, and bond through cookouts with authentic local cuisine including mamaliga, a native polenta dish, and sour fish soup, prepared by the Romanians.
The U.S. Marines’ reputations were well known amongst those who had participated in BSRF-10 last year and word-of-mouth of the professionalism and proficiency the U.S. brought to COIN and PKO.
The instructors for the training were the U.S. Marines but the Romanian “students” were able to pass on lessons to their lessons to their instructors as well.
“[U.S. Marines] pride themselves on being able to do a lot with very little,” said Gunnery Sgt. Daniel A. Devine, GCE executive officer, BSRF-11, “but they step that up a notch.”
The Romanian marines operate, shoot and perform well without the technological advances of the U.S., said Devine.
“It’s nice to see someone who has no [infrared laser sights] or Rifle Combat Optics and is still shooting very well,” said Devine. “It’s a lesson: we can’t forget the basics as technology grows.”
“We had a procedure, saw how you did it, and then you saw how we did it,” said Visan. “We compare and share the knowledge and we both improve.”
“These are not untrained troops that we worked with” said Devine. “Their proficiency levels were already good before we started training; hopefully, we kicked it up a notch for them.”
At the conclusion of the training, each Romanian marine is given a certificate of completion at a ceremony that was attended by both U.S. and Romanian commanding officers of Black Sea Rotational Force 11.
Although training was just a short two weeks, farewell handshakes and goodbyes only minimally describe the feeling of troop camaraderie.
“We’re here to train, we’re train to teach, we’re here to learn with open arms but we are also here to show the skill and capability we have as Marines,” said Hale, “and show that we are warfighters and this is what we do.”
The Romanian marines felt a similar warrior ethos and bond portrayed by the U.S. Marines.
“It’s a way of life; how we live, what we do, what we want and the values we share,” said Visan. “A Marine is a strong, brave, proud man; I think my guys and your guys are the same.”
“Our cultures are the same; we are fighters. We never give up; we run everything as proficiently as we can. The information and knowledge was shared and not just one-sided, we learned from each other here,” said Romanian 2nd Lt. Traian Apostolide, platoon commander, Romanian marines, BSRF-11.
Black Sea Rotational Force is a rotational deployment of Marines to the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus regions of Eastern Europe to participate in security cooperation to build military capacity, provide regional stability, and develop lasting partnerships with nations in the region. BSRF-11 will be operating as a Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force until September of this year.
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