Dempsey Arrives in Romania for NATO Talks

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

SIBIU, Romania, Sept. 14, 2012 – Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey arrived here today to participate in NATO Military Committee talks.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will meet with his fellow chiefs of defense to discuss Afghanistan and other NATO issues. The meeting, hosted by Romanian Air Force Lt. Gen. Stefan Danila, lasts through Sept. 16.

This is the first Military Committee meeting since the NATO Summit in Chicago. The chiefs of defense will examine progress made in a number of areas. The meeting will concentrate on challenges in the wider security environment, as well as ongoing operations in Afghanistan and in the Western Balkans. Discussions will also focus on NATO’s transformation stages, including the structural revision of the International Military Staff.

NATO nations agreed in Chicago in May to ensure the alliance can perform the full range of missions even during austere times.

Danish Army Gen. Knud Bartels, the chairman of the committee, will preside. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Operations, and Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, are attending.

This is the first time Romania has hosted the Military Committee meeting, but Bucharest, the capital, hosted the NATO Summit in 2008. Romania has been an active member of the alliance even before officially joining in 2004.

Romania sent troops to Afghanistan in 2002 and now has roughly 1,800 service members in that country. Romania has also been active in the Balkans and had troops deployed to Iraq.