Maj. Victor A. Jaffett, left, 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element, explains division-level communication operations with his Romanian counterparts during a Multinational Division Southeast command staff exchange held in Bucharest, Romania, Feb. 11-12, 2016. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell)
By Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
BUCHAREST, Romania — Members of 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element participated in a Multinational Division Southeast (MND-SE) command staff exercise Feb. 11-12, 2016, at the MND-SE headquarters.
“I am very happy to have 4th Infantry Division members here in Bucharest,” said Romanian Brig. Gen. Ovidiu Uifaleanu, MND-SE commander. “I know that you being here will have a very important contribution to our (internal staff) internal and cross-functional processes.”
The purpose of the staff exercise included assisting with standard operating procedure development; sharing lessons learned from 4th Inf. Div.’s reception, staging, onward movement and integration of U.S. forces; identifying further integration opportunities with MND-SE; and facilitating enduring U.S.-Romanian synchronization across all warfighting functions, said Maj. Royce Baker, 4th Inf. Div. Mission Command Element (MCE) chief of fires.
Col. Catalin Ticulescu, Romanian NATO Force Integration Unit commander, and members of his unit were also in attendance.
As the division-level headquarters for U.S. Army Europe, the MCE has mission command of all U.S. ground forces conducting operations in support of Atlantic Resolve. Those forces are conducting enhanced multinational training and security cooperation activities that include bilateral training with eastern European allies and numerous multinational exercises.
“I think that the presence of 4th Infantry Division staff will help give a different perspective on NATO and international operations as we try to reach a common understanding of the shared values as members of the North-Atlantic alliance,” said Uifaleanu.
During the two-day event, MCE participants shared their knowledge of division staff operations with their respective host-nation counterparts to help refine MND-SE staff functions to include communications, logistics and operations.
“I think it’s awesome to share what we have established in the MCE with MND-SE,” said Capt. William Morgan, battle captain, 4th Inf. Div. MCE. “Now (the MND-SE staff) can take this information plus their real-world experiences and apply it to their tactics and procedures for future operations. I think they’re going to be very successful.”
Members of the MCE and MND-SE united to share information and to build an enduring relationship to improve the interoperability of both nations.
“During the (exercise) a great volume of information was successfully exchanged,” said Uifaleanu. “Our personal-human interrelations and shared experiences will enable us to reach the required capabilities for planning and conducting operations in a multinational environment.”