NATO’s quick reaction forces, led by Turkey this year, arrive in Romania to take part in a NATO exercise testing readiness and military mobility.
Synopsis
NATO’s quick reaction forces have arrived in Romania to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender 2021. The Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) is led by Turkey this year. A convoy of Turkish troops crossed the border from Bulgaria into Romania on 11 May.
Steadfast Defender 2021 is a NATO-led exercise involving over 9,000 troops from more than 20 NATO Allies and partners. The objective is to ensure that NATO forces are trained, able to operate together and ready to respond to any threat from any direction. More information on Steadfast Defender 2021 can be found here and here.
NATO is taking the necessary measures to protect our armed forces. This includes COVID-19 precautions, such as pre-deployment testing and quarantining.
Footage includes various shots of the convoy at a border crossing and drone shots of armoured vehicles driving along roads. It also includes soundbites from Brigadier General Dan Cristian, Commander of the Headquarters Multinational Division South-East.
Transcript
-- SHOTLIST --
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS [no sound] - TURKISH CONVOY OF ARMOURED VEHICLES DRIVING THROUGH ROMANIA
(00:56) DRONE SHOTS [no sound] - TURKISH CONVOY OF ARMOURED AND OTHER VEHICLES ON THE HIGHWAY IN ROMANIA
(03:16) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – BRIGADIER GENERAL DAN CRISTIAN, COMMANDER, HEADQUARTERS MULTINATIONAL DIVISION SOUTH-EAST
“Let me explain you in some words, what's the reason of Steadfast Defender 21? First and foremost, NATO is a defensive alliance. And this is our commitment to prove that Alliance member states are always ready to defend our country states if required. Second, Steadfast Defender 21, it's about readiness. And when I'm talking about readiness, I'm talking about our soldiers. So, our soldiers are getting trained whether to deploy in a mission abroad or to train to get deployed, it’s that creating that operational mentality and capability. And last but not least, Steadfast Defender 21 proves the cohesion and the unity of the Alliance. And also, it gives our soldiers the opportunity to train together, to check our procedures and interoperability.”
(04:08) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – BRIGADIER GENERAL DAN CRISTIAN, COMMANDER, HEADQUARTERS MULTINATIONAL DIVISION SOUTH-EAST
“In a world where you can choose to be anything, we as a soldier choose to be ready.”
Courtesy Ministry of National Defence, Romania. This media asset is free for editorial broadcast, print, online and radio use. It is restricted for use for other purposes.
