Synopsis
Romanian and US forces have been practising together on a training ground in Transylvania, Romania. The exercise, referred to as Operation Justice Sword, is an annual validation exercise for the 280th Romanian Mechanised Battalion. It saw Romanian troops train alongside soldiers from the United States 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which has been stationed in Europe since the summer of 2022.
The exercise ran from 27 October to 11 November 2022.
Footage includes Romanian and US armoured vehicles live-firing on a training ground as well as soundbites from Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Black and Sergeant First Class Daniel Perdue, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS - ROMANIAN INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES ARMED WITH 73MM 2A28 GROM CANNON AND 25MM CANNON CONDUCT LIVE-FIRING
(00:36) WIDE SHOT – ROMANIAN INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE FIRING THE 25MM CANNON
(00:44) WIDE SHOT – ROMANIAN INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE FIRING THE 73MM 2A28 GROM CANNON
(00:49) VARIOUS SHOTS - ROMANIAN INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES ARMED WITH 73MM 2A28 GROM CANNON AND 25MM CANNON CONDUCT LIVE-FIRING, ALONG WITH ROMANIAN TROOPS FIRING ROCKET-PROPELLED GRENADES (RPG) AND GENERAL-PURPOSE MACHINE GUNS
(00:54) VARIOUS SHOTS (CLOSE UP) - ROMANIAN INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES WITH TROOPS FIRING RPG
(01:13) VARIOUS SHOTS - ROMANIAN INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES DRIVING ACROSS THE TRAINING GROUND
(02:53) VARIOUS SHOTS - AMERICAN M1151 HMMWVS DRIVING ACROSS THE TRAINING GROUND
(03:19) VARIOUS SHOTS - AMERICAN M1151 HMMWVS FIRING M2A1 .50 CAL MACHINE GUN ON LIVE-FIRE EXERCISE
(03:28) VARIOUS SHOTS - TROOPS FROM 101ST AIRBORNE PREPARE M1151 HMMWV FOR UNDERSLUNG TRANSPORT
(04:23) CLOSE SHOT - TROOPS FROM 101ST AIRBORNE SIGN OFF PAPERWORK FOR UNDERSLUNG TRANSPORT
(04:31) VARIOUS SHOTS - TROOPS FROM 101ST AIRBORNE APPLY CAMOUFLAGE CREAM IN PREPARATION FOR LIVE-FIRE EXERCISE
(04:55) WIDE SHOT - TROOPS FROM 101ST AIRBORNE PUTS ON BODY ARMOUR IN PREPARATION FOR LIVE-FIRE EXERCISE
(05:02) VARIOUS SHOTS - TROOPS FROM 101ST AIRBORNE WALKING WHILE CARRYING M2A1 .50 CAL MACHINE GUN
(05:29) WIDE SHOT - TROOPS FROM 101ST AIRBORNE PREPARE FOR LIVE-FIRE EXERCISE
(05:35) VARIOUS SHOTS - BOEING CH-47F CHINOOK HELICOPTERS SAT ON TRAINING GROUND
(06:01) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT COLONEL JEFFREY BLACK, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT), UNITED STATES ARMY
“This training is great for NATO because it helps strengthen our partnership with our Romanian Allies, so both the United States and Romanian soldiers for the first time we got a chance together, these particular soldiers, to work as a team and train and prepare to defend.”
(06:19) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT COLONEL BLACK, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT), UNITED STATES ARMY
“Well, interoperability is important because we know that we're going to be fighting alongside our NATO Allies if called upon. If the enemy attacks and we need to defend any part of NATO, we’re here to defend. We're here to work in concert with our Allies.”
(06:35) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT COLONEL BLACK, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT), UNITED STATES ARMY
“This training exercise was great because it allowed us to see what our Romanian Allies can do and allowed them to see what we're capable of and then we can build that trust as we go into the possibility of combat together in the future. Additionally, it helps the people here in Romania to understand that we are here to help support them, we're Allies and that we'll fight for them, if called upon.”
(06:58) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) SERGEANT FIRST CLASS DANIEL PERDUE, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT), UNITED STATES ARMY
“The benefits that this interoperability brings to NATO and our Allies is allowing our force, the United States Army, to share our knowledge with an Ally and then also get knowledge from them as well. Specific here in the Cincu training area, we're working on their terrain, which is a different kind of terrain that we're used to, we get to see how they work in their terrain and how they are comfortable and then it also allows us to manoeuvre on different terrain as well to better our capabilities.”
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