Romania to participate alongside Moldovan, U.S. troops in Fire Shield military exercise

Romania, the Republic of Moldova, the North Carolina National Guard, and U.S. Army Europe and Africa will kick off next month Fire Shield 25 - the 10-th iteration of the Moldovan-led defensive training exercise held at the Military Training Base of the Moldovan National Army from August 4 - 14, U.S. Army Europe and Africa announced in a release.

Roughly 300 soldiers from Moldova and Romania, and 120 U.S. Army Soldiers will participate in the exercise. The troops will strengthen their partnership with joint training cultural events such as traditional patch exchanges, through distinguished leader integration and in a closing ceremony on August 14th, the release notes, adding that Fire Shield is an annual exercise between the Moldovan National Army and the North Carolina National Guard, and this year's iteration will focus on enhancing staff processes, building readiness and strengthening the professional partnership between service members.

Fire Shield, which has been running every year since 2015, has become a benchmark in the training program of Moldovan, Romanian and American personnel, the Moldovan Defense Ministry said as cited by army.md. "The training activities, carried out according to international quality standards, are key for achieving the operational compatibility of a modern force, one of the goals pursued by the National Army," the Moldovan Defense Ministry said.