US European Command pledges support to National Army

The Moldovan Army can count on the support of the United States of America European Command, stated Lieutenant General Mark P. Hertling, Commanding General of US Army Europe at a press conference on Wednesday, April 25, in Chisinau, Info-Prim Neo reports. “US Army Europe wants to continue the dynamic improvement of relations with the National Army and will work to create new bridges to strengthen this link in the future”, said Lieutenant General Mark P. Hertling. Minister of Defense Vitalie Marinuta said that the US proved to be one of the most loyal partners of the Ministry of Defense. Moldova, especially the National Army, benefited from various training programs in the military area, programs of technical assistance that supported the reform initiated by the Minister of Defense. Mark P. Hertling handed the Moldovan Minister an American military decoration and certificate of honor. The Minister received The Meritorious Service Medal for his outstanding service in 2005-2006 as officer for political-military strategic planning at the US Central Command. The certificate of honor was awarded for his achievements as Minister of Defense. Vitalie Marinuta was included in the National Hall of Fame of the US Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, which the Minister graduated from in 2000. The Moldovan-American cooperation in the field of defense is based on the Memorandum on Military Collaboration between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Moldova and the US Department of Defense, signed on December 4, 1995. Since 1999, the National Army militaries have participated in 276 operations organized within programs supported by the US Army Europe Command.