Marine Corps Battle Group deployed to Romania joins NATO's Battle Group in Romania

• The Spanish contingent, deployed at the Cincu base, joins the forward land forces on the eastern flank of the Alliance; it is in addition to the forward land forces on the Alliance's eastern flank.

The Marine Coprs Brigade ‘Tercio de Armada’ has concluded the Transfer of Authority to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in a military ceremony held at the ‘General Berthelot’ camp at the Cincu base, where the Spanish battle group is deployed.

The Marine Corps Mechanised Tactical Sub-Group is thus placed under NATO command, integrated into one of the eight multinational battalions deployed by NATO to protect the eastern flank, and under the operational control of Joint Operations Command (MOPS).

The ceremony began with the arrival of the Marine Force Romania (FIMAR-R-I), which paraded into the formation, composed of military personnel from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Romania. Once all the Allied nations were in position, the ceremony continued with the raising of the flags of the five participating nations, followed by an official address highlighting the importance of multinational engagement in the NATO framework.

The day before the event, Brigadier General Fernando Martín Pascual, MOPS Operations Deputy, visited the Spanish troops deployed in Romania. During his presence, he was able to see the resources deployed and witnessed the unit's participation in a tactical exercise at the Cincu manoeuvre field. He also toured the facilities and the living area of the contingent and concluded his visit by signing the FIMAR-R-I book of honour.

Colonel Francisco Anes Florencio, Deputy Commander of the Marine Brigade ‘Tercio de Armada’, also attended the event as a representative of the Marine Corps.

Land deployment on eastern flank

Romania's Forward Land Forces Multinational Battle Group is one of eight counterparts deployed along the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance to contribute to the deterrence and defence of this area. The activities to be conducted are similar to those already carried out by the Spanish Armed Forces deployed in Latvia and Slovakia. These include carrying out exercises of the unit itself and others that are considered, integrated into the Multinational Brigade led with France, as well as those developed in cooperation with the Romanian Armed Forces.

At the 2016 Warsaw Summit, it was decided to reinforce ‘deterrence’ as a fundamental tool to guarantee the protection of allied territory on the Eastern flank. Subsequently, at the Madrid Summit in 2022, the Alliance recognised Collective Defence as the first priority among the missions envisaged in the new Strategic Concept of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO).

During the aforementioned Madrid summit, it was agreed to expand to eight Multinational Battle Groups (MN BG) deployed on the Eastern Flank, as well as their subsequent capacity to expand to the level of Multinational Brigade (MN BDE).

To date, the Spanish contribution of forces to these multinational units has materialised in the MN BGs of Latvia and Slovakia, to which now joins the contribution of a tactical subgroup to the MN BG of Romania.