Romania is a country with a rich history and ARRC personnel were able to explore a small bit of it while deployed to Bucharest as part of Ex DEFENDER 21 . ARRC personnel supported their Romanian colleagues at MNC ( SE ) for the US led exercise , deploying in May and June of this year . Our Romanian hosts were keen to show us something of their country , so ARRC personnel were able to see much of the city of Bucharest from the Old Town to the Palace of Parliament , a building constructed in the final days of the communist regime , which today houses the House of Deputies and Senate of the Romanian Parliament .

While developing an understanding of the terrain on which the exercise was taking place , ARRC personnel visited the Transylvanian Alps . We saw Peleş Castle built by King Carol I between 1873 and 1914 , and home to Queen Marie of Romania . The castle is on the edge of the town of Sinaia , a place popular in winter for skiing and in the summer for hiking . ARRC also visited Bran Castle . Dating from the late 14th century and used as a military garrison until the end of the 19th century , this is made famous by its association with the story of Dracula . The historical Romanian figure of Vlad the Impaler , Vlad Ţepeş is loosely associated with the castle . He was a fierce and ruthless warrior in defence of his territory of historical Wallachia in the late fifteenth century .

Following these cultural visits , we returned to the UK with a better appreciation of the beauty and culture of historic Romania , and how history continues to inform the present day .

JFIB Malvern Walk

On 20th May members of JFIB conducted a walk down the length of the Malvern Hills as a much-needed opportunity to get outdoors as a team after so long working remotely . The route taken was twelve kilometres and was completed in four hours . Unfortunately , the weather was not on side and the team were pretty much drenched from start to finish . However , spirits remained high throughout . The day also gave branch members a chance to meet the incoming Ch JFIB Brigadier Matt Birch who took up the post in June . Brigadier John Oldroyd has moved on to be the UK ’ s military representative to the EU in Brussels .

Multinational troops from 21 different nations at the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps plan and train for operations as NATO ’ s warfighting corps at readiness , but behind the scenes there are small teams making sure those soldiers and their families are taken care of .

The small teams , known as the national support elements ( NSE ) for their respective nation , normally work independent from each other to assist in finance , sponsorship for newcomers , welfare and training management ; however , their working practices changed as the ARRC continued to train and exercise throughout the pandemic .

“ Our relationship got stronger during COVID as the ARRC prepared for Exercise Loyal Leda 20 ,” said U . S . Army Staff Sergeant Gabriel Santiago , a human resource sergeant for the U . S . NSE . “ We were helping families from the different nations to make sure they were ok while their loved ones were away on training .”

The support during pandemic included coordination for COVID tests , medical appointments , grocery shopping , phone call or home visits and sometimes child care . That on top of the daily tasks to manage and track awards , promotions , manning , training and other administrative actions soldiers and families need support with .

Staff Sergeant Vallin Graham , the HR noncommissioned officer for the U . S . NSE , said Santiago showed initiative to reach out to the other NSE staff members , who they only knew before from daily greetings working in the same facility , but now there was dialogue and a weekly meeting to find ways to collaborate with one another .

“ I love working here , I love the diversity , the different cultures ,” Graham said “ We are different , but we have the same mission to help support the family members and soldiers .” Italian Army Lieutenant Colonel Andrea Novelli , the Italian NSE chief , said it ’ s a very hard job , “ but we love it and we share a lot of information and experience with the other NSEs . In a multinational environment , where there are so many countries and people , it ’ s important to take experience from others , because it ’ s a way to grow and bring back to your own army ,” he continued . “ I think it ’ s great .”

As government social gathering restrictions change , the staff are able to meet in a more sociable way and the recent sunny days have allowed some of the NSEs to join for lunch outside and continue to foster this new connection .

“ We have a good relationship with the other NSEs ,” said German Army Warrant Officer 1 Oliver Joachim , chief of the German NSE . “ I love to work with other nations , together , to learn from them .”

Joachim worked before with other foreign troops in another multinational NATO unit in Spain , while Santiago said this was his first experience working with soldiers from other nations . Santiago added that the collaboration was essential .

We have a common goal to help family members and soldiers across the ARRC

U . S . Army Staff Sergeant Gabriel Santiago

Photos : Multinational human resource soldiers meet for lunch June 8 , 2021 , as COVID restrictions start to ease . The German , Italian and American army soldiers , who provide support to their respective country ’ s staff working at NATO ’ s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps , started to meet shortly after the pandemic started to share lessons learned and support each other to provide the best customer service to soldiers and families throughout the pandemic .