NATO MUltimedia
24 hours on a NATO exercise
Publication date
21 Sep 2021 15:13
Country
Romania
Themes
Filming date
28 May 2021
Location
Cincu Training Area
Type
EDITED
Format
16:9
Version
Master
Language
English
What’s it like to be a soldier on a NATO exercise? We sent our video producer to Romania to find out.
Synopsis
NATO exercises happen all year round – on land, in the air, at sea – with multinational troops from NATO Allies and partner countries. What’s it like to be a soldier participating in one of these big exercises? Our video producer documented the experience while embedded with a company of Romanian soldiers on exercise Steadfast Defender 2021.
Exercise Steadfast Defender 2021 was a large-scale NATO exercise, designed to ensure that NATO forces are trained, able to operate together and ready to respond to any threat from any direction. With over 9,000 participants from more than 20 NATO Allies and partners, the exercise tested NATO’s ability to deploy large numbers of troops, equipment and supplies rapidly across the Atlantic and Europe.
Prior to filming, NATO videographers tested negative for COVID-19. It was not mandatory for Romanian troops to wear masks outside, as per national government guidance.
Footage includes shots of video producer Jake Tupman interacting with Romanian soldiers and participating in training.
Exercise Steadfast Defender 2021 was a large-scale NATO exercise, designed to ensure that NATO forces are trained, able to operate together and ready to respond to any threat from any direction. With over 9,000 participants from more than 20 NATO Allies and partners, the exercise tested NATO’s ability to deploy large numbers of troops, equipment and supplies rapidly across the Atlantic and Europe.
Prior to filming, NATO videographers tested negative for COVID-19. It was not mandatory for Romanian troops to wear masks outside, as per national government guidance.
Footage includes shots of video producer Jake Tupman interacting with Romanian soldiers and participating in training.
Transcript
—SOUNDBITE—Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“My name is Jake Tupman. I am a civilian video producer for NATO. Right now I am on exercise Steadfast Defender and over the next 24 hours I want to find out what life is like on a large-scale, multinational NATO exercise like this one.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Get down! Get down! Get down!.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
24 HOURS ON A NATO EXERCISE
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Every year, NATO holds exercises across the Alliance designed to test the skills, capability and interoperability of its forces. Exercise Steadfast Defender takes place in multiple locations and I’ve come to Romania where 4,000 troops from 12 nations are being put through their paces.
Romania is one of the host nations of this exercise and this Romanian unit has given me unique access to spend 24 hours training with and living alongside them.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
09:00 ROMANIAN CAMP
—SOT—Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Captain Nick! Hello, how are you?”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Good, good. You?”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Very good, yeah. So this is the Romanian Camp?”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
CAPTAIN NICOLAE SIMA 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yes, this is our camp. We are so far for two weeks here and we’ll be for another two weeks until the exercise will be ended.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
During my stay I wanted the full military experience and so Captain Nick had kindly organised a tent for me to sleep in. Unfortunately for me, I would not be sleeping alone.
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Oh, you have a spider in there.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I’ve got a spider?”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Really? What kind of spider? Are there a lot of insects in these tents?”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“There are small snakes in this area.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK, great. Snakes.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
With the accommodation sorted, it was time for me to get into more appropriate clothing.
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Try this jacket on and see if it fits you.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK, perfect.”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Oh my God.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
Unfortunately, this one’s a bit too small.”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“You ate well when you were smaller.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Yeah, let’s just say it’s been quite a long lockdown.
Alright guys so look, I’ve got my Romanian jacket, my tactical vest, I’ve got my helmet. I’m now part of the Romanian unit.”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“I’m very glad that you are now a member of my company.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
11:00 COMBAT TRAINING
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Ha, sort of.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Suited and booted, and as the Romanian Army’s newest recruit, I was ready to become an integral part of the unit.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“What’s happening? What’s my role here?”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
2ND LIEUTENANT ALEXANDRU-VALENTIN NEAGU
30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“You are the VIP.“
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Ok, cool. VIP I like that”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“And we should escort you.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK, so I’m literally the cargo at the moment. You’ve got to get me from A to B.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Perfect. Are you ready? Let’s go.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Tight squeeze. There’s not a lot of space. It’s very constricting. My head is hitting the ceiling there.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
This Romanian unit specialises in mountain warfare and these armoured personnel carriers, or APCs, although they might not be luxury travel, enable them to cross extremely tough terrain in difficult weather conditions.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Get out?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yes.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“The first team will be Rauțã, Ionaşcu, Constantin and I.”
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“So obviously I couldn’t understand a lot of what they were saying there but all I know is that I’ve got to stick to Alex. We’re going to be patrolling up this mud road here.
Is this a company? Or a platoon?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Shots fired! Get down, get down! Respond to fire! Get down.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
With the unit under attack they took a protect-at-all-cost attitude towards me, their VIP cargo. Fortunately, they were only firing blank ammunition and the opposing forces were entirely imaginary, but the intensity of the training still took me by surprise.
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Having successfully suppressed enemy fire, they’ve now got me into the safety of the APC (armoured personnel carrier), so that’s mission accomplished. Now of course, this unit is just one small part of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Taskforce and in a crisis scenario they would be the first ones deployed and would expect to be there a few days after the outbreak of that crisis.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
This year, NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Taskforce, or ‘VJTF’, comprises 6,400 soldiers from 12 nations. In order to deploy so rapidly, exercises like this one are vital, testing the capabilities and procedures of all 12 nations and also allowing the soldiers to meet each other and work together.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
18:00 SHOWER TIME
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“One of the parts of living somewhere for a number of days is you need to wash and clean, and that means having a shower. And as someone who’s come here for 24 hours, albeit only 24 hours, I feel like I ought to experience all aspects of life on this camp. So I’m now going to try the showers, get out of these soaking wet clothes and try and get a little bit warm.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
In normal, everyday life, we may take the comfort of a hot shower for granted, but as I was learning, nothing on an exercise is comfortable or private.
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I’m about to get completely naked in front of a group of guys, which is not how I thought I would necessarily be spending the day but ‘when in Rome’, hey?”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
I don’t think I’d ever appreciated a hot shower quite this much.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“After a day like today that is exactly what you need actually.”
20:00
DINNER
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Shower complete, I headed down to taste the local cuisine. They say an army marches on its stomach and I was intrigued to find out what dinner was like on one of these NATO exercises.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Guys, what have we got here then? What is this? This is traditional Romanian food, yes?”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Risotto in Italian.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Mmm, that’s not bad.”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yes, it’s very good.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
MASTER SERGEANT AUREL-REMUS VLAICU
30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Will you be happy when the exercise is ending?”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Of course, we go to see our family, so all the time. But this is our job, so… Job first.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Job first, family second?”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“No!”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
22:00 BEDTIME
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“So, see you tomorrow.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Just before you go, any advice for me about sleeping out here? Do I need to wrap up warm?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“Yeah, take some warm clothes on you because the night is very cold outside.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
05:00
WAKE UP
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
And with that it was time to get some rest. Or so I thought…
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I haven’t really managed to sleep at all yet. It’s three o’clock, I just can’t get any sleep. There’s ants all over the tent. I’m hoping that I manage to get at least two hours before the morning but it’s looking unlikely at the moment.“
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Yeah, I got probably about an hour and a half of sleep. I just couldn’t sleep.
For some people watching this it may not seem that bad. You know, the mud and the wet and the bugs. But for someone who’s not used to it like me, that was really one of the worst night’s sleep I think I’ve had in an awfully long time.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“Time to wake up, 3rd platoon!
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
With my 24 hours with the Romanians coming to an end, Alex wanted to make sure I’d be leaving in better physical condition than when I arrived.
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“No, it’s not what I want to be doing first thing in the morning particularly, but I can see that it kind of brings everyone together.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Little did I know, I was being lulled into a false sense of security. Alex had organised a morning push-up challenge specifically for my benefit.
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Up! Down! Up! Down! Up! Down! Come on Jake, come on.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
While my fitness skills were clearly lacking, at least I was providing some early morning entertainment for everyone.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
09:00
24 HOURS
COMPLETED
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Why are you so muddy?”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I don’t know, I don’t know what happened.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“You are so red man!”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I stand here, is this ok?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yeah. In the back.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
During my twenty-four hours here, I’d been touched by how the Romanians had welcomed me into the unit and made me feel part of the team.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Thank you for the experience. Thank you for being such a kind host and thanks to all the guys for making me feel like a proper part of the team even though obviously we were only here for one day.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“It will be great if you salute all the boys.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Although I’d only spent 24 hours with the unit, I left with a huge respect for their hard work and dedication.
They put everything they have into what they do both as soldiers and one of the hosts of this NATO exercise.
“My name is Jake Tupman. I am a civilian video producer for NATO. Right now I am on exercise Steadfast Defender and over the next 24 hours I want to find out what life is like on a large-scale, multinational NATO exercise like this one.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Get down! Get down! Get down!.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
24 HOURS ON A NATO EXERCISE
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Every year, NATO holds exercises across the Alliance designed to test the skills, capability and interoperability of its forces. Exercise Steadfast Defender takes place in multiple locations and I’ve come to Romania where 4,000 troops from 12 nations are being put through their paces.
Romania is one of the host nations of this exercise and this Romanian unit has given me unique access to spend 24 hours training with and living alongside them.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
09:00 ROMANIAN CAMP
—SOT—Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Captain Nick! Hello, how are you?”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Good, good. You?”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Very good, yeah. So this is the Romanian Camp?”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
CAPTAIN NICOLAE SIMA 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yes, this is our camp. We are so far for two weeks here and we’ll be for another two weeks until the exercise will be ended.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
During my stay I wanted the full military experience and so Captain Nick had kindly organised a tent for me to sleep in. Unfortunately for me, I would not be sleeping alone.
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Oh, you have a spider in there.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I’ve got a spider?”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Really? What kind of spider? Are there a lot of insects in these tents?”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“There are small snakes in this area.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK, great. Snakes.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
With the accommodation sorted, it was time for me to get into more appropriate clothing.
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Try this jacket on and see if it fits you.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK, perfect.”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Oh my God.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
Unfortunately, this one’s a bit too small.”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“You ate well when you were smaller.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Yeah, let’s just say it’s been quite a long lockdown.
Alright guys so look, I’ve got my Romanian jacket, my tactical vest, I’ve got my helmet. I’m now part of the Romanian unit.”
—SOT—Captain Nicolae Sima, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“I’m very glad that you are now a member of my company.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
11:00 COMBAT TRAINING
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Ha, sort of.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Suited and booted, and as the Romanian Army’s newest recruit, I was ready to become an integral part of the unit.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“What’s happening? What’s my role here?”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
2ND LIEUTENANT ALEXANDRU-VALENTIN NEAGU
30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“You are the VIP.“
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Ok, cool. VIP I like that”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“And we should escort you.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK, so I’m literally the cargo at the moment. You’ve got to get me from A to B.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Perfect. Are you ready? Let’s go.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Tight squeeze. There’s not a lot of space. It’s very constricting. My head is hitting the ceiling there.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
This Romanian unit specialises in mountain warfare and these armoured personnel carriers, or APCs, although they might not be luxury travel, enable them to cross extremely tough terrain in difficult weather conditions.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Get out?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yes.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“The first team will be Rauțã, Ionaşcu, Constantin and I.”
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“So obviously I couldn’t understand a lot of what they were saying there but all I know is that I’ve got to stick to Alex. We’re going to be patrolling up this mud road here.
Is this a company? Or a platoon?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Shots fired! Get down, get down! Respond to fire! Get down.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
With the unit under attack they took a protect-at-all-cost attitude towards me, their VIP cargo. Fortunately, they were only firing blank ammunition and the opposing forces were entirely imaginary, but the intensity of the training still took me by surprise.
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Having successfully suppressed enemy fire, they’ve now got me into the safety of the APC (armoured personnel carrier), so that’s mission accomplished. Now of course, this unit is just one small part of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Taskforce and in a crisis scenario they would be the first ones deployed and would expect to be there a few days after the outbreak of that crisis.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
This year, NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Taskforce, or ‘VJTF’, comprises 6,400 soldiers from 12 nations. In order to deploy so rapidly, exercises like this one are vital, testing the capabilities and procedures of all 12 nations and also allowing the soldiers to meet each other and work together.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
18:00 SHOWER TIME
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“One of the parts of living somewhere for a number of days is you need to wash and clean, and that means having a shower. And as someone who’s come here for 24 hours, albeit only 24 hours, I feel like I ought to experience all aspects of life on this camp. So I’m now going to try the showers, get out of these soaking wet clothes and try and get a little bit warm.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
In normal, everyday life, we may take the comfort of a hot shower for granted, but as I was learning, nothing on an exercise is comfortable or private.
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I’m about to get completely naked in front of a group of guys, which is not how I thought I would necessarily be spending the day but ‘when in Rome’, hey?”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
I don’t think I’d ever appreciated a hot shower quite this much.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“After a day like today that is exactly what you need actually.”
20:00
DINNER
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Shower complete, I headed down to taste the local cuisine. They say an army marches on its stomach and I was intrigued to find out what dinner was like on one of these NATO exercises.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Guys, what have we got here then? What is this? This is traditional Romanian food, yes?”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Risotto in Italian.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Mmm, that’s not bad.”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yes, it’s very good.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
MASTER SERGEANT AUREL-REMUS VLAICU
30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Will you be happy when the exercise is ending?”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Of course, we go to see our family, so all the time. But this is our job, so… Job first.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Job first, family second?”
—SOT—Master Sergeant Aurel-Remus Vlaicu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“No!”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
22:00 BEDTIME
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“So, see you tomorrow.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Just before you go, any advice for me about sleeping out here? Do I need to wrap up warm?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“Yeah, take some warm clothes on you because the night is very cold outside.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
05:00
WAKE UP
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
And with that it was time to get some rest. Or so I thought…
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I haven’t really managed to sleep at all yet. It’s three o’clock, I just can’t get any sleep. There’s ants all over the tent. I’m hoping that I manage to get at least two hours before the morning but it’s looking unlikely at the moment.“
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Yeah, I got probably about an hour and a half of sleep. I just couldn’t sleep.
For some people watching this it may not seem that bad. You know, the mud and the wet and the bugs. But for someone who’s not used to it like me, that was really one of the worst night’s sleep I think I’ve had in an awfully long time.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ROMANIAN, ENGLISH SUBTITLES)
“Time to wake up, 3rd platoon!
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
With my 24 hours with the Romanians coming to an end, Alex wanted to make sure I’d be leaving in better physical condition than when I arrived.
-- SOUNDBITE --Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“No, it’s not what I want to be doing first thing in the morning particularly, but I can see that it kind of brings everyone together.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Little did I know, I was being lulled into a false sense of security. Alex had organised a morning push-up challenge specifically for my benefit.
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Up! Down! Up! Down! Up! Down! Come on Jake, come on.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
While my fitness skills were clearly lacking, at least I was providing some early morning entertainment for everyone.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
09:00
24 HOURS
COMPLETED
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Why are you so muddy?”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I don’t know, I don’t know what happened.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“You are so red man!”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“I stand here, is this ok?”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“Yeah. In the back.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
During my twenty-four hours here, I’d been touched by how the Romanians had welcomed me into the unit and made me feel part of the team.
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“Thank you for the experience. Thank you for being such a kind host and thanks to all the guys for making me feel like a proper part of the team even though obviously we were only here for one day.”
—SOT—2nd Lieutenant Alexandru-Valentin Neagu, 30th Mountain Battalion, Romanian Army (ENGLISH)
“It will be great if you salute all the boys.”
--SOT--Jake Tupman, Video Producer for NATO (ENGLISH)
“OK.”
VOICEOVER (ENGLISH)
Although I’d only spent 24 hours with the unit, I left with a huge respect for their hard work and dedication.
They put everything they have into what they do both as soldiers and one of the hosts of this NATO exercise.
Music
“Big Time” – James, Minor. “Mutate” – Abelard. “Good Love” – Julian, Williams. “Gangsta GV” – Gordon. “Pounding Tension Pulse” – Tyutmanov. “Lost Blood” – Clader, Robertson.
Usage rights
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Reference
NATO855759
ID
1836