U.S. Ambassador: Moldova’s Army is a Reliable Partner of Western Allies

“The national army of Moldova is a reliable partner of the republic’s western allies,” said U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Derek Hogan to the Moldovan military contingent returned from California, which took part in the exercise Agile Hunter 2019. The diplomat praised the interaction with American partners from the the North Carolina National Guard, infotag.md reports. “The Moldovan servicemen showed a high level of training in difficult conditions of the exercises, when the air temperature rose to +45 degrees. You had to act, using modern equipment and weapons. But soldiers and officers had shown that they had been able to gather and show a good result, which meant that they could participate in peacekeeping operations at the international level,” the diplomat said. He congratulated the members of the national army with the 20th anniversary of the partnership with the North Carolina National Guard, calling it “an unprecedented milestone in the cooperation between the U.S. and the Republic of Moldova.” Prime Minister Maia Sandu thanked the U.S. Government for its assistance in strengthening Moldova’s defense capability and sovereignty. “Strengthening the defense of the Republic of Moldova is one of the priorities of the government. We need a professional and strong army. We intend to continue to strengthen cooperation with our American partners,” she said. The contingent commander Serghei Chilivnic expressed gratitude to the partners of the United States. “The exercises were not easy. But we used the experience of our friends from North Carolina, adopting their tactics, using equipment and weapons,” he said. In July, more than 100 Moldovan servicemen took part in the U.S. exercise Agile Hunter 2019.   They were held in partnership with the North Carolina National Guard, at the Fort Irwin National Training Center. Point.md