Exercise Platinum Eagle 19.1 at the end
The operational phase of the “Platinum Eagle 19.1” multi-national training module, conducted at the Secondary Land Forces Training Center in Babadag, Tulcea County, ended on March 20, with the execution of live-fire exercises at company level by the Romanian and foreign soldiers who formed the subunits participating in this joint training phase.
“Platinum Eagle 19.1”, part of the annual regional initiative “Black Sea Rotational Force 19”, began on March 13, with the deployment of forces to the Babadag training facilities and the opening ceremony.
The Romanian element of the exercise was made up of soldiers belonging to the 341 Infantry Battalion known as “White Sharks”, (Mechanized Brigade 9), Marines from the 307 Marine Infantry Regiment (subordinated to the Naval Forces Staff), and soldiers from the 95th Air Base, therefore representatives of the land, naval and air force categories, conferring the common character of combat training.
The multinational element consisted of about 200 Bulgarian, Georgian, Moldovan, Ukrainian and US Marines.
The overall objective of the “Platinum Eagle 19.1” multinational training module was, on one hand, to increase troops maneuverability and, on the other hand, to increase the interoperability of military representatives from NATO and partner countries. The leader of the exercise was the commander of the 341 Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Ciprian Balica.
On the 19th and 20th of March, the most dynamic period of the “Platinum Eagle 19.1” exercise, the service personnel grouped into multinational infantry companies and took part in training procedures that used as a form of combat the offensive in motion. They also trained for first aid procedures in areas of operations.
One of the companies was made up of platoons belonging to Georgia, Romania, the United States and Ukraine under the command of a Romanian officer, the other being made up of platoons belonging to Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, and the United States, being commissioned by an American officer. The structures were supported by machine guns and mortars caliber 82 mm (Romanian) and 60 mm (American). Also, ground troops have benefited from aerial support of MIG-21 LANCER jets and IAR-330 PUMA SOCAT helicopters.
Common training was complex, and good cooperation between the six nations has been achieved at the end of it. The tactical exercises have successfully rehearsed command and control procedures at a sub-unit level.
At least two characteristics of the exercise have led not only to the adjustment of combat techniques to a similar common action, but also to the creation of real cohesion between military personnel belonging to different armies: the brotherhood built during training sessions in the polygon and living in the less generous conditions of a military camp like the Babadag polygon.
The main objective of the exercise was the common training of the participating subunits in a unitary manar in order to maintain operational capacity and increase interoperability, by exercising command and control procedures and firing weapons systems.
“Platinum Eagle – 19.1” aims to increase interoperability between participating forces, maintain deployability and joint training, develop a regional environment conducive to multinational military co-operation.
The BSRF is an annual exercise run by the MARFOREUR/AF – Marines Corps Forces Europe and Africa, taking place in the Black Sea, the Balkans and the Caucasus region. The aim of the activity is to increase the level of interoperability, in order to participate in peacekeeping operations and counter-insurgency. It includes training on scenarios of attacking enemy ground bases and exercising procedures fighting in the urban environment, but also in environments hard to reach.
