More than 800 soldiers from throughout Europe will be training in Romania and Bulgaria over the next two seasons.
"The Joint Task Force — East headquarters has arrived on the ground and is preparing to receive training units," said Maj. Jennifer Johnson, JTF-E public affairs officer.
The main body of soldiers for the bilateral training in Romania has been deploying for the last two weeks, said Lt. Col. Richard Spiegel, chief of public communication for U.S. Army Europe. The training with the Romanians is set to be completed by the end of July.
Heading up the deployed units will be the Vampire Observer/Controller team from Hohenfels, made up primarily of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment soldiers, Spiegel said.
Making up the 130-soldier headquarters element are troops from the Joint Multinational Training Command in Grafenwöhr, as well as USAREUR.
An opening ceremony for this year’s training is scheduled for June 30, Johnson said, after which soldiers from units such as the 541st Engineer Company from Bamberg and the 212th Combat Support Hospital from Misau will begin their rotations. Elements from the New Mexico National Guard will also be participating, Johnson said.
Many of the participating troops and units will be training in Bulgaria by mid-July, Johnson added. "It’s a myriad of moving parts," she said.
Much like 1-4 in Romania, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment troops will be performing light infantry duties throughout the rotation, set to end in mid-October, Spiegel said.
