FORT KNOX, Ky. — A senior Romanian military official met with Victory Corps key leaders Thursday and honored the contributions of distinguished Corps contributors to combined American-Romanian endeavors during a visit to the Corps Headquarters.
Maj. Gen. Iulian Berdilă, chief of the Romanian Land Forces, briefed leaders, met with Soldiers and presented awards to Victory Corps personnel for their contributions to the strategic American-Romanian partnership.
During the award ceremony, held in front of the Corps Headquarters, Berdilă provided V Corps with a streamer for its colors and presented awards to six Soldiers who made particularly impactful contributions to American-Romanian endeavors.
Col. James E. Armstrong III, Col. Dawn L. Orta, Maj. Chase S. Baker, Command Sgt. Maj. Michael J. Lamkins, Master Sgt. Joshua J. Gendron and Staff Sgt. Teja Jo Stroup received the Emblem of Honor of the Land Forces, awarded for the impeccable performance of missions, the achievement of exceptional results in the training process and the proven dedication in support of the Romanian Land Forces.
“We need to recognize the value of V Corps and its personnel dedicated to our mission, so I wanted to take this opportunity to come to [Fort] Knox… to value your contributions to [Romania’s] mission and training,” said Berdilă during the ceremony. “By providing the colors, it puts that permanent recognition into the echo of time. We must carry out this mission to protect generations to come.”
Victory Corps Deputy Commanding General Maj. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater and V Corps Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Harris welcomed the visiting leader and conferred with him on topics ranging from security dynamics and atmospherics to interoperability and command and control in Romania and throughout the Black Sea Region.
“We are truly honored and humbled to have Maj. Gen. Berdilă here in Kentucky and to have him recognize our corps and our Soldiers,” said Broadwater, a native of Radcliffe, Kentucky. “We have a great partnership with Romania and we look forward to building interoperability as we provide partnered, trained and ready forces.”
V Corps and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) work alongside Romanian and other NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-ready forces, execute joint and multinational training exercises to improve interoperability and to ensure an appropriate collective posture of deterrence and defense.
“This visit was a great opportunity for open dialogue between V Corps and other Fort Knox organizations and Romanian Land Forces leadership to discuss lessons learned, opportunities and challenges that are mutual to all organizations,” said U.S. Army Maj. Bradley Young, V Corps Trade Shows and Outreach Coordinator. “Engagements such as these are a testament to our ongoing partnership and interoperability with our Romanian Allies.”
During his visit to Fort Knox, Berdilă also visited U.S. Army Cadet Command, U.S. Army Human Resources Command and U.S. Army Recruiting Command to discuss challenges and opportunities with talent management and recruitment across the forces. His tour of the region also includes an appearance at Fort Campbell, where he will meet with leaders and Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The “Screaming Eagles” play a prominent role in operations and training in Romania.
V Corps, under the command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, retains command and control for all rotational and assigned U.S. Army units in the European Theater and currently has operational control of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); 1st Infantry Division; 2nd Cavalry Regiment; 12th Combat Aviation Brigade; 41st Field Artillery Brigade; 4th Security Forces Assistance Brigade; and 5-4 Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
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