CINCU, Romania –
U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 861st Engineer Company, Rhode Island Army National Guard and members of the 1092nd Engineer Battalion, West Virginia Army National Guard (WVARNG), stand alongside Soldiers of the Romanian 10th Engineer Brigade during the closing ceremony of Resolute Castle 19 at the Joint National Training Center/Cincu Training Area in Cincu, Romania, on July 31, 2019.
Resolute Castle 19 is a multinational, joint training exercise constructing engineer projects while enhancing relationships with NATO allies, reinforcing regional assurance and deterring external aggression in support of Atlantic Resolve.
1st Lt. Dennis Zaitsev, the operations officer for the 1092nd Engineer Battalion, of the WVARNG said that U.S., Romanian and Dutch Soldiers were able to build four main projects throughout the exercise. Those projects include: an entry control point, a non-standard live fire range, a multipurpose building/gym and a tank rated road.
Not only were the NATO allies able to build real world projects, but they were also able to build strong international relationships while serving alongside one another, said Zaitsev.
Working shoulder to shoulder with international allies has also been an unique experience for many of the Soldiers during Resolute Castle 19, said 1st Lt. Omar Torres Garcia, Executive Officer of the 861st Engineer Company.
“It’s something you don’t get to do everyday,“ said Torres Garcia.” To be able to get the chance to do so sets you apart.”
The construction of all four projects required the contribution from 756 U.S. National Guard Soldiers from Alaska, Colorado, Kentucky, Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Participating NATO allies included 210 Romanian and 60 Dutch Soldiers.
Torres Garcia said that Resolute Castle 19 further demonstrates that the United States stands behind its NATO partners while validating the necessity and importance of having proficient engineer units capable of deploying at any moment.
“The U.S. has proven itself over and over again of its capability to rapidly deploy and redeploy,” said Torres Garcia. “As engineers, to bring the amount of equipment we’ve brought and remain mission capable rotation after rotation shows that we can do our work in theater of operations as well as aid people in humanitarian efforts.”
Torres Garcia said that he encourages every engineer unit to participate in similar training exercises to grow as a Soldier, as a unit and as an Army.
“As a member of NATO, we’re here to help and to make a better world,” said Torres Garcia.