Multinational Brigade South-East (Romania)

Multinational Brigade South-East
Brigada Multinațională Sud-Est
Romanian, Polish, and Portuguese armored fighting vehicles at the Saber Guardian 2023 opening
Active	1883–2017 as the 2nd Infantry Brigade 2017–present
Country	Romania
Allegiance	NATO
Type	Brigade
Size	7 battalions + other supporting companies
Part of	Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast
Garrison/HQ	Craiova
Motto(s)	SEMPER PRIMUS
Anniversaries	April 1st
Engagements	First World War Romanian Campaign Hungarian–Romanian War Second World War Iraq War War in Afghanistan

The Multinational Brigade South-East (MN BDE SE) is an infantry brigade of the Romanian Land Forces. Until April 2017 the brigade was named 2nd Infantry Brigade "Rovine", but has since become one of Romania's contributions to NATO. The "Rovine" was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq for peacekeeping missions.

History

The brigade was formed on 1 April 1883. ^{[1] [2]} It participated in both World Wars. ^[3] In 1916, the Brigade was composed of the 1st and the 31st Infantry Regiment, and was part of the 1st Infantry Division. ^[4] It took part in the Romanian Campaign of World War I, and in the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919.

In 1970, the 2nd Infantry Brigade Craiova was formed. It was named after the Battle of Rovine, which took place in 1395. ^[5] Starting from 1995, the brigade began participating in international exercises. Troops from the brigade were also deployed in international missions in Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. ^[3] During the deployment to Angola, the 26th Infantry Battalion took the nickname "Red Scorpions". During the multinational deployments, the name of the unit was registered as such by an American commander, thus becoming the first Romanian unit with an official nickname. Following the 26th Battalion example, the other battalions of the brigade also received a "scorpion" nickname. ^[6]

Multinational Brigade

Piranha V armoured personnel carriers during the DACIA 21 LIVEX Exercise at Smârdan

During the 2016 Warsaw summit, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced that a Romanian Army brigade was going to be transformed into a NATO Multinational Brigade. Following a meeting of the Romanian Supreme Council of National Defence in September 2016, the President of Romania announced that the 2nd Infantry Brigade was to take the role of the multinational brigade. ^[7] The Multinational Brigade was declared fully operational by the Deputy Commander of the Allied Land Command in 2018 following the evaluation exercise Scorpions Fury 2018. ^[8] The brigade is currently subordinated to the Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast from Bucharest. ^[9]

On 10 August 2023, structures of the Multinational Brigade participated at the establishment ceremony of the newly created 24th Infantry Battalion. The new battalion, named after Ecaterina Teodoroiu, is to be subordinated to the brigade and has its headquarters in Târgu Jiu. ^{[10] [11]}

Organization

Organization in 2022

French Leclerc tank and Romanian Piranha V at the Cincu military camp

• Multinational Brigade South-East (HQ MN BDE-SE), in Craiova ^[12]
  • 20th Infantry Battalion "Dolj" ("Black Scorpions"), in Craiova ^[6]
  • 22nd Infantry Battalion "Romanați" ("Green Scorpions"), in Caracal ^[13]
    • Portuguese Contingent (Força Nacional Destacada - FND), in Caracal ^{[14] [15]}
  • 24th Infantry Battalion "Ecaterina Teodoroiu" ("Gray Scorpions"), in Târgu Jiu ^[16]
  • 26th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab" ("Red Scorpions"), in Craiova ^[17]
    • Polish Motorized Company, in Craiova ^[18]
  • 116th Logistic Battalion "Iancu Jianu" ("Golden Scorpions"), in Craiova ^{[17] [19]}
  • 205th Air Defense Battalion "General Gheorghe Pârvulescu" ("Blue Scorpions"), in Craiova ^[20]
  • 325th Artillery Battalion "Alutus" ("Fire Scorpions"), in Caracal ^[21]
  • Army of North Macedonia Contingent, in Caracal ^{[22] [23]}

References

1. Brigada 2 Infanterie "Rovine" din Craiova, la ceas aniversar (in Romanian)
2. (in Romanian) 165 Years of Existence of Romanian Artillery Archived 2011-08-26 at the Wayback Machine , p.34
3. Oana Nuță (31 March 2013). "130 de ani de la înființarea brigăzii 2 infanterie "Rovine"!". ligamilitarilor.ro.
4. Ministerul Apărării Naționale Marele Stat Major Serviciul istoric (1934). "I-VIII". România în războiul mondial : 1916-1919 (in Romanian). Vol. I. p. 701.
5. "Scorpionii de la Craiova, misiuni în Afganistan". Digi24 (in Romanian). 14 February 2013.
6. "Brigada 2 Infanterie Rovine: experiență unică în Afganistan și Irak". romania-actualitati.ro. 28 September 2016.
7. "K. Iohannis: Brigada 2 Infanterie "Rovine" din Craiova va deveni brigadă multinațională a NATO". Digi24 (in Romanian). 27 September 2016.
8. "Declararea capacității finale a Comandamentului Brigăzii Multinaționale de la Craiova". Ministerul Apărării Naționale (in Romanian). 15 November 2018.
9. "Hotărârea nr. 52/2017 pentru aprobarea înfiinţării pe teritoriul României a Comandamentului Multinaţional de Brigadă (HQ MN BDE SE) sub coordonarea Comandamentului Multinaţional de Divizie" (in Romanian). Monitorul Oficial. 30 June 2017.
10. "România a înființat Batalionul 24 Infanterie Ecaterina Teodoroiu. Maior Raluca Popescu - comandantul batalionului". Defense Romania (in Romanian). 10 August 2023.
11. "S-a înființat Batalionul 24 Infanterie Târgu Jiu. Va purta numele "Ecaterina Teodoroiu"". gorjeanul.ro (in Romanian). 10 August 2023.
12. SHAPE Public Affairs Office (2018). "Romania's Multi-national Brigade - Bolstering NATO's Tailored Forward Presence". Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe .
13. "Locotenent Colonelul Andrei Mazere, noul comandant al Batalionului 22 Infanterie "Romanați" Caracal". evenimentdeolt.ro (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 8 June 2023.
14. "Presidente da República visita Força Nacional Destacada na Roménia". presidencia.pt (in Portuguese). 20 December 2022.
15. "Preşedintele Iohannis, alături de premierii român şi portughez, vizită la Batalionul 1 Instrucţie de la Caracal". Agerpres (in Romanian). 19 May 2022.
16. Bogdan Oproiu (2023-10-09). "Veniră și făcură". presamil.ro (in Romanian).
17. "Scorpionii roșii s-au întors acasă" (PDF). Curierul Armatei (in Romanian). Romanian Military Press. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007.
18. Andreea Moțoc (26 May 2022). "Camarazi fără granițe". presamil.ro (in Romanian).
19. "Scorpionii aurii au implinit 45 de ani". Gazeta De Sud (in Romanian). 2 August 2006.
20. "Scorpionii Albaștri, bilanț după 1320 de zile: 84000 de gloanțe calibru 5,45mm trase, peste 4000 de lovituri calibru 35 de mm". Umbrela Strategică (in Romanian). 28 October 2020.
21. Gheorghe Vișan (25 April 2018). "Artileriștii din Câmpia Romanațiului". presamil.ro (in Romanian).
22. "The Chief of Defence Staff from Portugal pays a visit to Romania". MApN. 3 February 2023.
23. "The Army contingent's deployment to NATO Enhanced Vigilance Activities in Romania and Bulgaria". mil.mk. 30 November 2022.

External links

• (in Romanian) Official Site of the Romanian Land Forces
• Headquarters Multinational Brigade South East official Facebook page

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