U.S. battalion to deploy with Romanian troops

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U.S. battalion to deploy with Romanian troops
By Jim Tice - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 20, 2009 10:48:04 EST

For the ninth time in the last four years, soldiers of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, are prepping for a deployment to Afghanistan with their NATO partners from an infantry battalion of the Romanian Land Forces. The American soldiers will be under the tactical command of a Romanian officer.

The U.S. battalion, a heavy infantry unit that serves as the opposing force for the Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany, has supported the International Security Assistance Force since 2005 by alternating company rotations to Afghanistan, according to Capt. Caleb Hyler, Bravo Company commander.

The JMTC, part of U.S. Army Europe’s Joint Multinational Training Command, prepares U.S., multinational and NATO partners for combat deployments and other military missions anywhere in the world.

To date, more than 1,200 soldiers from 1-4 and a smaller contingent of sailors from Mobile Unit 8, a Navy explosive ordnance disposal unit from Sigonella, Italy, have partnered with Romanian forces in Afghanistan.

U.S. soldiers normally serve six- to eight-month company rotations of 170 members apiece.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/army_romania_122009w/