Romanian soldiers capture the largest weapons cache since the Afghanistan War begun


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Operation "Carpathian Lightning"

The 18th of April 2003. It's been almoust a year now since hundreds of Romanian troops are performing their duty in Afghanistan. The Romanian presence there, although not mentioned by Western press and media sources, is one of the largest military presences in Afghanistan. Douzens of men are stationed in Kabul. MP's, MASH units, sapper, scout and NBC troops are present there.
But the largest number of Romanian troops is present at a base near Kandahar. Being the "hottest" area in Afghanistan, and also the area where there are supposed re-organization and anti-Coalition efforts by Al-Qaeda and taliban forces, South Eastern Afghanistan enjoys the large presence of several hundreds of Romanian troops. For six months, the 26th Light Infantry "Neagoe Basarab" Battalion, nicknamed by the Americans "the Red Scorpions", after the name of a Soviet anti-SEAL special forces unit, has been stationed there. Recently, they have been rotated with the 812th Light Infantry "Carpathians' Hawks" Battalion, of the 81st Mechanized Brigade from Bistrita.
After bearly a month from their arrival, the soldiers from the 812th Carpathians' Hawks battalion have already made the greatest weapons cache capture since the start of the Afghanistan War, in 2001.
The Romanians have captured no less than 3,000 missiles, 250,000 high-calibre rounds, and one million small fire-arms rounds.
Operation "Carpathian Lightning", one of the many operations initiated and performed by the Romanian soldiers in Kandahar, was an excellent action and yet another proof, if ever needed, of the fully compatible Romanian forces' interaction with other NATO troops, and of the capability of Romania to send by its own means, and maintain for a long time, soldiers in any theatre, anywhere in the world, in any weather conditions.
Romania is still the only country in Eastern Europe to operate C-130 Hercules aircraft. Romania acquired two such planes in 1996, and two more in 1998. Seven years after the Hercules entered active service in the RoAF, Romania remains the only country in the entire region of Eastern Europe to have a "strategic aviation" capability.
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A Romanian MP in Afghanistan
Therefore, it was widely appreciated at NATO, when Romania transported thousands of troops, tanks, APC's, as well as other heavy equipment, by its own means, during its participation in the international missions of the last years (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Macedonia, Albania, Afghanistan, Iraq-2003).

22nd of March, 2003

U.S., Romanian Exercise Finishes Successfully
Story and photo by Corporal Keith A. Kluwe, from the 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

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A soldier from the 812th Infantry Battalion "Neagoe Basarab", nicknamed "Carpathians' Hawks", checking his communication equipment at Kandahar Air Field prior to the start of Operation Carpathians' Thunder, March 8, 2003.
The operation was conducted in the Zobol provence, 130 km N-E of Kandahar, in the most dangerous part of Afghanistan.
The Romanian soldiers are deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan
The first Romanian Army led combat mission concluded successfully in March 13 when a large Romanian and U.S. Army ground assault convoy returned to base just before sunrise.
The mission began in March 8, when elements of the Romanian Army’s 812th Infantry Battalion and elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, plus other supporting units left Kandahar Air Field for a 220 kilometer convoy into the Zobol province with the mission of finding and destroying a suspected cave and enemy cache site and also to provide humanitarian aid to villages nearby.
The cave, which was destroyed by soldiers from the 731st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, had a manmade entrance and two ventilation shafts leading from the back of it. While the cave was being rigged for destruction, civil affairs soldiers from the 82nd Airborne and 812th Infantry met with village elders in Amak to discuss issues important to the village.
The reception received at each village was very positive and friendly. Village leaders shared tea with both U.S. and Romanian soldiers. One village even sent a tray of tea to soldiers providing perimeter security. The civil affairs soldiers wrote down their requests and left Humanitarian Daily Rations, clothes and new shoes to be distributed in the village.
The soldiers gave to the village elders two solar-powered radios so they could help keep members of the village current on news around the globe.
Three other villages in the area also received humanitarian aid and made requests of coalition forces.
Romania has seven battalions with a large experience in international missions, ranging from observation and relief to peace-keeping and live combat missions. Until april 2003, two of them sent hundreds of men each, to Afghanistan.
You can see the two battalion's websites right here on the Internet, with lots of pictures included:
Links:
Red Scorpions, official site of the 26th light infantry battalion "Neagoe Basarab", from the 2nd Mecanized Brigade "Moto-Rovine", in Craiova, nicknamed "Red Scorpions".
Carpathians' Hawks, official site of the 812th light infantry battalion "Soimii Carpatilor", from the 81st Mecanized Brigade "Dracula", in Bistrita.
Also, the Romanian military press (Presamil) was the first and the only combat-camera crew in Afghanistan, any other networks, commercial networks such as CNN or Fox News, AFP or Reuters, being afraid to risk sending reporters there at that time.
For more pictures with Romanian soldiers in Afghanistan, visit this page. This is a story written by Cpl. Keith A. Kluwe from the 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Afghanistan, about the 812th Infantry Battalion

Copyright ©2003 Sorin A Crâsmarelu

18th of April 2003

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