The commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion Neagoe Basarab in Craiova, Lieutenant colonel Constantin Cosmin Stefan, who has also worked as a staff officer in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium, says that the experience gained in a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation command has shown him that NATO is primarily a defensive and deterrent alliance.

The commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion Neagoe Basarab - the Red Scorpions, the first unit of the Romanian Army to participate in a multinational exercise under NATO command, also believes that Romania's NATO membership was a step forward towards ensuring a credible and strong security guarantor as it had never had before, and that the greatest sacrifices are the loss of lives of Romanian soldiers in theatres of operations and soldiers injured in missions.

"From my point of view, our country's joining NATO was, first of all, another step forward towards ensuring a credible and strong security guarantor as our country has never had before. At the same time, we can speak of a number of advantages that we have enjoyed and continue to enjoy. Among them I would mention: the development and continuous modernisation of all military equipment and techniques, a safe and secure environment conducive to economic investment of all kinds, which automatically lead to the development of the country and increase the quality of life. We have certainly made sacrifices. Some of these are represented by the lives of Romanian soldiers lost in theatres of operations, as well as by soldiers wounded in the same situations," the commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion Neagoe Basarab' told AGERPRES.

A veteran of theatres of operations, having participated in four international missions: Iraq - 2007 and Afghanistan - 2009, 2011 and 2014, Lieutenant colonel Constantin Cosmin Stefan, who took over the command of the Red Scorpions on 1 June 2023, said that in the 20 years since our country has been part of NATO, the Romanian Army has made real progress in terms of professionalisation of the military, but also in terms of equipment and interoperability with allies.

In addition to participating in these four missions, Lieutenant colonel Constantin Cosmin Stefan had the opportunity to work in a NATO command at strategic level.

''From 2018 to 2021, I worked as a staff officer at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium. All of these can be said to have actively contributed to my development both professionally and personally. I cannot move on without being grateful to my family and thanking them in this way for their unconditional support and backing in everything I have undertaken. I said earlier that I had gained experience in a NATO command, experience that proved to me once again that NATO is primarily a defensive and deterrent alliance. Working with allies within the Alliance has made me understand that NATO has adapted and continues to do so successfully in response to the global security situation impacting the security and sovereignty of its members. Romania has been part of this project for 20 years, shortly after I started my career as an officer, and I can confidently say that the Romanian Army has made real progress in terms of professionalisation of the military, equipment, participation in international missions and exercises, in short interoperability with allies," says the commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion Neagoe Basarab in Craiova.

As regards the challenges that NATO is facing at the moment, he says that they are implemented in the training process.

"The current challenges for NATO and implicitly for Romania as a full member of the Alliance are represented by Russia's actions in Ukraine. All the lessons identified in this conflict are implemented in the training process. We are constantly adapting our training methods and the way exercises are conducted, so that we continue to have a credible deterrence and defence posture," concluded the commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion Neagoe Basarab.AGERPRES(RO - Maria Mitrica, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - editor: Simona Iacob)