Chief of Defence Staff: Noble Blueprint 21 exercise, proof of Allied cohesion

Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu said on Thursday, in the Port of Constanta, at the end of the "Noble Blueprint 21" exercise held in Romania, planned by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Tod D. Wolters, that the training carried out demonstrates allied cohesion derived from the implementation of the concept of achieving "mutual understanding before action, if necessary, in an allied format", agerpres reports.

"In terms of training in a multinational context, we have conclude today another major training event, the 'Noble Blueprint 21' exercise. The exercise was planned by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe [General Tod D. Wolters] and led by Commander of NATO Allied Joint Force Command Naples [Admiral Robert P. Burke]. It demonstrates Allied cohesion derived from the implementation of the concept of achieving "mutual understanding before action, if necessary, in an allied format" - "know each other before we need each other", said the representative of the Defense Staff.

The Romanian official thanked the leader of the exercise, Commander of NATO Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Admiral Robert P. Burke, for his attention to the conduct of the exercise and also assured him of the full appreciation of the Defense Staff not only for the "excellent cooperation" between the structure he is commands and the Allied forces deployed on national territory, but also by the "remarkable collaboration" between the Allied Joint Force Command Naples and the Romanian Joint Forces Command.

Lieutenant-General Daniel Petrescu said that ensuring national security is achieved through "complementarity between the national posture and the collective contribution" at NATO level.

According to him, "Noble Blueprint 21" included ground and air policing missions in Romania, visits to key units of the Allied defensive architecture in our country and discussions aimed at synchronizing national actions with those in the Allied framework.

The head of the NATO Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Admiral Robert Burke, stressed that the purpose of the joint Allied exercises is to keep the peace.

In this context, the NATO 'Noble Blueprint' exercise validated the Alliance's freedom of action in the Euro-Atlantic area, strengthened the independence, security and territorial integrity of the Alliance's nations in the Black Sea region and demonstrated that our combined military posture remains credible, coherent and resilient to the activities of any adversary, Burke said.

He also expressed his desire for a Black Sea Naval Forum, CARE, to be organised in our country, which will bring together decision-makers and leaders of the Alliance's navy so as to advance our common understanding of the Black Sea regional security challenges, to deepen the coordination of maritime initiatives in order to better meet the needs of the region.

Admiral Robert Burke also said that, in the end, our strength and common goal as Allies demonstrated through exercises such as the 'Noble Blueprint' and efforts, at all levels, to synchronize our activities will make the difference between whether Europe will have many more cases of aggression on the part of the opponents in the future, or if it obtains a dose of long-term strategic stability.