On the 3rd of April 2022, NATO Day was celebrated for the first time at the Multinational Corps South-East (HQ MNC-SE) since the Headquarters moved to Sibiu Garrison. The ceremony had in attendance the local authorities, the corps’ multinational personnel, commanders and representatives of the military units from Sibiu.
NATO Day stands as an important occasion celebrated each year in Romania, in the first Sunday of April, after Romania has officially joined the Alliance as a full-fledged member on the 29th of March 2004, in the largest NATO enlargement, along with Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The North-Atlantic Treaty Organization has grown from 19 to 30 members in the 18 years after Romania joined the Alliance. The Romanian military has participated in NATO missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Western Balkans as a trusted ally, and after 2015, Romania became the Framework nation hosting several NATO Headquarters on its territory, including HQ MND-SE and NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU Romania) in 2016, Multinational Brigade South-East (MNBDE-SE) in 2017, and finally, HQ MNC-SE in 2020, enhancing NATO’s deterrent and defensive posture on the Eastern flank.
In the context of the present challenges in security environment, the Alliance decided to quickly reinforce its allies, by boosting its military presence in the eastern parts of Alliance territory, in response to the unjustified and unprovoked military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. As a result, additional multinational battle groups have been stood up in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. These actions demonstrate again the Allies’ solidarity, determination and ability to defend Alliance territory and populations.
As part of the NATO Force Structure (NFS), HQ Multinational Corps South-East is developing its operational capabilities to be able to contribute to deterrence and, on order, provide corps-level command and control for NATO land operations in the region during crises situations or conflict.
Text&photo: HQ MNC-SE Military Public Affairs
