April 18, 2017 –
Soldiers from the South Carolina Army National Guard, United States Army Reserve, and Romanian Land Forces completed the transportation of 196 Engineering vehicles and equipment, which began their journey in Bremerhaven, Germany, traversed four countries, and arrived at their destination of Cincu, Romania on April 1, 2017.
The transportation of the equipment signified the commencement of Resolute Castle 2017, an engineering mission consisting of various projects designed for training Soldiers. The offloading of the vehicles and equipment at the railhead began on April 1 when the train arrived in Voila, Romania, a neighboring town to Cincu, Romania.
The South Carolina Army National Guard, composed of units such as the 122nd Horizontal Engineer Battalion, 59th Troop Command, the United States Army Reserve, composed of units such as the 702nd Horizontal Engineering Company, 844th Engineer Battalion, and the Romanian Land Forces began the offloading in Voila, Romania and continued their efforts in safely and efficiently completing the transport until April 4.
"We arrived and began offloading equipment immediately. We traveled a pretty lengthy distance from Bremerhaven, Germany, but the mission is not completed until all equipment has been taken to its final destination", Spc. Cody Malone of the 733rd Engineer Battalion from Morristown, TN said.
The offloading at the railhead in Voila spanned four days and demonstrated the ability of the US and Romanian forces to operate jointly so as to achieve lofty goals. The combined forces then faced the movement of large, cumbersome equipment through the small city streets of Cincu in a safe, orderly fashion.
"We are here to further ties with our allies. We know we must move the equipment efficiently, while considering the implications of our actions," Sgt. Charles Smith of the 122nd Horizontal Engineer Battalion from Cheraw, South Carolina related.
A Romanian Police escort guided the engineering vehicles and equipment through the town of Cincu, while local citizens went about their day to day lives with no interference. The vehicles arrived to the Romanian Base, where US Soldiers are currently operating, with no incidences.
"Our mission successfully exhibited our abilities to operate within the confines of a Romanian town and their bylaws," Capt. Winkels, an engineer officer of the 926th Engineer Brigade said. "We worked with the Romanian Land Forces in offloading the massive vehicle and equipment set we transported from Germany." He continued, "We set a precedent for safe, efficient operations for the rest of Resolute Castle 2017 in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve."
The operation of transportation and offloading concluded once all vehicles and equipment had made their way through the town of Cincu to the site where construction is to be done. The sunset on April 4 over a vista of Soldiers and their equipment, both of which eagerly await the coming months of engineering operations.