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Although somewhat toned down by the rainy weather which caused the cancelling of its fly-past segment, the military parade organized at the Bucharest Triumphal Arch in celebration of Romania's National Day still offered an impressive display of military forces and hardware.
Over 1,500 troops and specialists of the National Defense Ministry, the Home Affairs Ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service, the National Penitentiary Administration and the Romanian Customs Authority marched the Bucharest parade this year, alongside 120 military vehicles.
Representatives of the NATO Battle Group deployed to Romania also gave the salute of honor.
The commander of the military parade was Lieutenant General Corneliu Postu, a Missiles and Anti-Aircraft Artillery career officer, who is currently Defense Staff director. In his more than 35-year-long career he served in various execution and command positions at tactical, operative and strategic level, in the country and abroad. He completed multiple professional upgrade courses and holds a master's degree in security and diplomacy. He is decorated with the National Order of the Faithful Service in the rank of Knight with military insignia and with the 'Military Virtue' National Order in the rank of Knight, with military insignia.
The infantry parade contingent was led by Major General Ciprian Marin, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division "Getica". He participated in multinational exercises and carried out several missions in the theaters of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Marching after the flag of the General Defense Staff were the carriers of the flags identifying the participating structures in the Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Angola theaters of operation. Lined up in the parade were:
* the detachment of the 'Military Tradition' Association and the detachment of the 'Holy Great Martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-streamer' Association of Military Veterans and Disabled Veterans
* the Special Operations Forces detachment
* the detachment of the Military Intelligence Brigade and the detachment of the South-East Multinational Brigade
* the NATO Battle Group based at Cincu - 20 French cavalry servicemen from the "Captain Sylvain" squadron, famous for its Lecrec tanks, 20 Dutch light airborne infantry troops, and French sappers and artillerymen hailing from the 3rd Military Engineering Regiment (created by King Louis XVIII in 1814), and the 1st Artillery Regiment (founded in 1671 by King Louis XIV).
* the detachment of the Republic of Moldova
* the detachment of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division - in a first at the military parade on Romania's National Day. Nicknamed the 'Screaming Eagles', the light infantry division of the U.S. Army specializes in air assault operations. Currently, the troops of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division have returned to Europe to reinforce NATO's eastern flank and to reassure the partners on the European continent.
* the detachment of the Romanian Land Forces, made up of troops of the 2nd Mountain Rangers Brigade 'Sarmizegetusa'
* the detachment of the 'Nicolae Balcescu' Land Forces Academy in Sibiu
* the detachment of the Romanian Air Force - made up of 60 servicemen commanded by Air Fleet General Iulian Patilea, Deputy Air Force Chief of Staff
*the detachment of the 'Henri Coanda' Air Force Academy
* the detachment of the Navy General Staff - made up of 60 military personnel from the structures under the Fleet Command
* the detachment of the 'Mircea cel Batran' Naval Academy
* the detachment of the 'Ferdinand I' Military Technical Academy
* the detachment of the Medical-Military Institute
* the military college detachment - made up of students of the national military colleges in Breaza, Alba Iulia, Campulung Moldovenesc, Craiova and Constanta
* the detachment of the 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza' Police Academy
* the detachment of the Special Intervention and Action Service
* the detachment of the Romanian Gendarmerie
* the Firefighters detachment with the battle flag of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations
* the detachment of the Romanian Intelligence Service - made up of fighters from the intervention structures of the Anti-Terrorist Brigade
* the detachment of the Special Telecommunications Service - made up of experts in special telecommunications & cyber security and operators of the 112 emergency service
* the detachment of the National Penitentiary Administration
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Another section of the ceremony saw the technical detachments of the National Defense Ministry, the Home Affairs Ministry, the Romanian Customs Authority, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Special Telecommunications Service, led by Major General Cristian Dan, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Between 2020 - 2022 he served as the chief of the Multinational Command of the Southeast Division, and currently holds the position of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Land Forces.
The military hardware displayed in the parade included:
* the HUMVEE and TOYOTA combat vehicles of the Special Operations Forces
* the Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles of the IMINT Battalion of the Military Intelligence Brigade
* URO VAMTAC armored vehicles equipped with SPIKE Long Range guided anti-tank missiles
* PIRANHA 5 armored personnel carriers
* PIRANHA V DERIVATE vehicles - mobile command points, equipped with both weapon systems and the latest communications technology, including satellite, radio equipment and computer systems
* the HIMARS launchers of the 81st Tactical Missile Battalion
* the MLI-84M fighting vehicles of the 282nd Armored Brigade 'Unirea Principatelor' based in Focsani
* the TR-85 M1 'Bizonul' tank
* the LAROM launchers of the Barlad-based 83rd LAROM Battalion 'Bogdan I' of the 8th Tactical Missile Brigade 'Alexandru Ioan Cuza'
* hardware of the foreign detachments - the armored vehicles of the 152nd 'Red Devils' Infantry Regiment, the ROSOMAK armored amphibious carriers from Poland, the PANDUR armored personnel carriers of the Portuguese contingent operating in the South-East Multinational Brigade, as well as the equipment of the 101st Airborne Assault Division
* military hardware of the 74th PATRIOT Regiment
* DAF trucks with HAWK surface-to-air missile launchers, belonging to the 1st Surface-to-Air Missile Brigade
* the HARRIS 3-rd generation frequency hopping radio mobile station, the command control connection station mounted on a HUMVEE chassis, the video-teleconference mobile station mounted on a URO VAMTAC chassis, the radio-relay container mounted on ROMAN-DAC truck chassis, all operated by the Communications and IT Command detachment
* the hardware of the Joint Logistics Command
* special intervention vehicles of the 265th Military Police Battalion 'Tudor Vladimirescu'. AGERPRES
