Army Maj. Gen. Perry G. Smith, former Alabama Adjutant General, said his soldiers and airmen have taught the Romanians skills acquired during combat deployments and as well as those learned by responding to Hurricane Katrina and other disasters at home.

The Partnership continues to develop Romanian military capabilities and improve Romania's ability to partner with the United States and NATO in global peacekeeping operations and the War on Terrorism utilizing skills enhanced by the Alabama National Guard, the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and in accordance with the guidelines set forth in U.S. EUCOM's Country Campaign Plan and the U.S.

The focus of the partnership centers on the continued effective and efficient execution of familiarizations and demonstrations of U.S. and NATO techniques through the use of events conducted by teams traveling into Romania and through visits and joint activities in the United States, Europe, and Africa.

[6] In 2012, EUCOM funded 64 events in support of further developing Romania's military and disaster response capabilities; of these 9 were conducted directly by the Alabama National Guard in addition to one Flight Deployment by the 187th Fighter Wing from Alabama's Air National Guard, an event that was instrumental in Romania's decision to purchase F-16 aircraft over other multi-role air frames.

The Alabama National Guard has also had the opportunity to contribute to Romania from a humanitarian standpoint, as volunteers donated assets to support two different orphanages with clothing, bedding, and exercise equipment for use in rehabilitation of children with disabilities.

As FY 12 began to come to a close Alabama National Guard had the opportunity to share its expertise in the area of disaster response when asked to participate as observers in an engineering exercise that focused on the construction of its levies for flood control and how to manage the consequences of a failure in this system.