{"id":314690,"date":"2024-10-28T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=314690"},"modified":"2024-10-29T18:47:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T18:47:22","slug":"army-engineers-reinforce-regional-security-with-support-to-us-army-garrison-black-sea-in-natos-eastern-flank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=314690","title":{"rendered":"Army Engineers reinforce regional security with support to US Army Garrison Black Sea in NATO\u2019s eastern flank"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Local National Project Engineers Plamen Marinov discusses projects at the Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria with Europe District Commander Col. Dan Kent and other project teammates August 6, 2024. Europe District manages a roughly $10 million construction program in support of U.S. Army Garrison Black Sea at NSTA.
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\n U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Commander Col. Dan Kent poses with members of Europe District\u2019s Romania Resident Office and other teammates that support projects in Romania and Bulgaria while engaging with the team at Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Air Base, Romania August 8, 2024. The Romania Resident Office team manages Europe District construction projects at sites across Romania and Bulgaria.
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MIHAIL KOG\u0102LNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania \u2014 While the U.S. Army Garrison Black Sea name is new for U.S. forces operating out of the base, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District has been designing and constructing facilities here for well over a decade.<\/p>\n

Europe District currently manages a more than $110 million design and construction program in support of the U.S. Army\u2019s newest garrison in Europe \u2014 formally activated in August 2024 \u2014 and its key locations in Romania and Bulgaria. In fact, Europe District has had a forward team on the ground at MK Air Base for well over a decade at what is now called the Romania Resident Office.<\/p>\n

The RRO team is in charge of on-site construction management for projects across both Romania and Bulgaria including at U.S. Army Garrison Black Sea\u2019s MK Air Base location in Romania as well as facilities at Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Commander Col. Dan Kent, U.S. Army Support Group Black Sea then Commander Col. Kesler Weaver and Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Air Base Commander Romanian Air Force Col. Nicolae Cretu sit together during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the MK Cargo Apron at MK Air Base, Romania, August 7, 2024. The new cargo pad will support fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft and is part of more than $100 million in projects on MK Air Base being managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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\u201cIt\u2019s clear that USACE\u2019s construction projects within the Black Sea region enhance the security of our NATO alliance at a time and in a region with significant security challenges,\u201d said Europe District Transylvania Project Office Team Lead Andrew Stanford. \u201cBeing an integral part of building on that capability and interoperability by means of expanding our force projection platforms in the region is highly rewarding and gives daily purpose to our drive and focus in delivering our projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting in the mid-2000s, Europe District has overseen construction of several new facilities for what was then known as the Forward Operating Site MK, including road network, infrastructure, vehicle maintenance facilities, battalion and company administration buildings and more in use today.<\/p>\n

With the basic infrastructure in place for troops, the mission has expanded over the years, with additional recent projects at MK Air Base focusing on the renovation and expansion of several existing facilities to support the rotational forces there, including the dining facility, clinic, multiple barracks facilities, administrative space and more.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Project Manager Gilbert Huff, Europe District Commander Col. Dan Kent and Europe District Local National Project Engineer Cristi Ionescu check out ongoing barracks renovation work at Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Air Base, Romania August 9, 2024. The barracks renovation is part of more than $100 million in projects on MK Air Base being managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Most recently, the team just celebrated the completion of the air base\u2019s new hazardous cargo pad, which will support both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft and will bolster local airfield capabilities for both exercises and real-world missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project adds to the many projects that have already been delivered in recent years and even more construction still underway right now on base \u2014 all complementing each other to increase the operational capacity here and support the reinforcement of NATO\u2019s eastern flank,\u201d Europe District Commander Col. Dan Kent said to gathered U.S. and Romanian partners at the cargo pad\u2019s ribbon cutting ceremony in August.<\/p>\n

For more than 20 years, NSTA in Bulgaria has been a key training range for U.S., Bulgarian and allied forces and has hosted several major international exercises. Over the years, Europe District has delivered a wide array of improvements to the range, like facilities built to support aviation operations, maintenance facilities and live fire ranges and more.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Commander Col. Dan Kent discusses Europe District\u2019s missions in support of U.S. Army Garrison Black Sea with then-Area Support Group \u2013 Black Sea Commander Col. Kesler Weaver and other local partners at Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Air Base, Romania August 7, 2024. Europe District manages a wide range of projects in support of the U.S. Army\u2019s newest garrison, USAG Black Sea, and has been supporting their sites in Romania and Bulgaria for well over a decade.
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\u201cNSTA is one of the most versatile training ranges in Europe, allowing for tank maneuvering, aviation exercises and everything in between for U.S., Bulgarian and NATO allies to all train together,\u201d said Europe District Bulgaria Lead Project Engineer Anthony Tintelnot. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to be able to deliver so many different projects to improve and expand NSTA, ultimately improving the foundation for readiness here along NATO\u2019s eastern flank.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Europe District team recently turned over a new live-fire shoot house for preparing for indoor scenarios and construction is ongoing to build a new ammunition holding area.<\/p>\n

In addition to projects at U.S. Army Garrison Black Sea sites, Europe District\u2019s RRO team also oversees construction projects at other sites in Romania and Bulgaria, including Campia Turzii in Romania and Graf Ignatievo Air Base in Bulgaria. These are mostly in support of U.S. Air Forces in Europe partners funded by U.S. European Command\u2019s European Deterrence Initiative These EDI projects further bolster regional security by facilitating interoperability, increasing the capacity of these sites and supporting the capability of U.S. forces, NATO allies and partners to rapidly respond to any situation in the region should the need arise.<\/p>\n

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\n Members of the U.S. Army Garrison Black Sea team; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District; Romanian Air Force and the construction contractor, SKI, participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu Cargo Apron at MK Air Base, Romania, August 7, 2024. The new cargo pad will support fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft and is part of an investment of more than $100 million in projects on MK air base.
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Regarding being part of the RRO Team, Stanford noted that working overseas, and specifically in the Black Sea region, is a unique experience he has appreciated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking here in this region gives me a real sense of pride,\u201d Stanford said. \u201cHere in the Romania Resident Office we have a great team, extremely diverse international teammates, challenging projects, dynamic requirements and all on critical missions.\u201d He added that their missions \u201cGive us a strong sense of purpose and enhances the joy in getting our projects across the finish line safely, on time, within budget and to the quality required.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also emphasized some unique benefits not directly related to the mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cRomania and Bulgaria are some of the most naturally beautiful and untouched regions in Europe,\u201d Stanford said. \u201cThe flora, fauna and expansive areas of natural beauty are just the icing on top working in this region of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Local National Project Engineers Plamen Marinov discusses projects at the Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria with Europe District Commander Col. Dan Kent and other project teammates August 6, 2024. Europe District manages a roughly $10 million construction program […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314692,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-314690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=314690"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":314699,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314690\/revisions\/314699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/314692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=314690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=314690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=314690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}