BRASOV, ROMANIA (May 18, 2015) -- More than 300 members, of the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based out of Vilseck, Germany, drove approximately 270 miles across Romania, May 13 - 14.
The road march, called Operation Cavalry March, was part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, or OAR.
The movement validated the skills of everyone involved. To move more than 90 combat vehicles that far, on public roadways in an allied country, required tactical and operational expertise at every echelon from the individual Soldier to the division-level headquarters.
"The Soldiers of Task Force Cougar [2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment] performed magnificently. I could not be more proud of what they did," said Brig. Gen. Michael Tarsa, deputy commanding general, 4th Infantry Division, based out of Fort Carson, Colorado, and commander of the mission command element for Operation Atlantic Resolve.
The 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element is the division-level headquarters for U.S. Army Europe responsible for mission command of all U.S. land forces participating in Operation Atlantic Resolve.
Operation Atlantic Resolve is focused along NATO's eastern flank from Estonia, on the Baltic Sea to Bulgaria, on the Black Sea. Units supporting OAR conduct continuous enhanced multinational ground-force training and security cooperation activities with allies and partner nations in Eastern Europe as a demonstration of U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance.
As important as the movement was, it may not have been the most significant part of the cavalry march. The squadron made three stops along the route to meet and interact with the people of Romania.
At the end of the first day of the road march, the squadron stopped in Ploiesti, Romania, and set up displays of the combat vehicles in a shopping center parking lot. In addition to the Stryker vehicles, Apache attack helicopters, which had escorted the ground movement, landed in the parking lot for the crowd of nearly 2,000 residents to see close up.
"It's the first time I've been so close to all this military equipment," said George Neagu, a resident of Ploiesti. "I'm excited. Almost like my kids."
Task Force Cougar then participated in a wreath-laying ceremony in Sinaia, Romania, on the morning of the second day of Cavalry March. The ceremony commemorated the life of 1st Lt. William Little, a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps, who died there after his plane crashed near the site in 1943. Princess Catherine Caradja of Romania personally cared for Little and hundreds of other downed allied airmen in hospitals she established around Ploiesti.
The significance of the event was noticed by those in attendance.
"The ceremony today is a very special one," said Vlad Oprea, mayor of Sinaia. "This is the place that marks the fact that the Romanians stood by the American people."
Later in the second day of Cavalry March, a large crowd endured clouds and rain to welcome Task Force Cougar to Brasov, Romania; the final stop before arriving at the Cincu Training Area. Residents lined the streets as the Soldiers, some walking alongside the Stryker vehicles, arrived. Once there, all the Soldiers got out of the vehicles in the town center to meet the people.
"I think the turnout that you see from people today in Brasov, which is just tremendous... just gives you a real sense of how much friendship there is between our countries," said Dean Thompson, the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Romania.
As U.S. Soldiers continue to come to countries in Eastern Europe, they will immediately see the power of the personal connections they make, both in training environments and in the local communities.
"The relationship between our countries and our military is strong, which shows that we stand together," said Lt. Col. Theodore Johnson, commander, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Task Force Cougar. "Shared service leads to unbreakable bonds, and this bond continues to grow stronger through our joint training and exercises."
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