United States European Command
September 20, 2013
U.S. Army and Moldovan troops assess EUCOM humanitarian projects
By Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Chlosta, 7th Civil Support Command
CHISINAU, Moldova: Soldiers from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 7th Civil Support Command deployed to this Eastern European nation recently to take a closer look at U.S. European Command humanitarian assistance projects.
Five Soldiers from Company A, 457th Civil Affairs Battalion, 361st Civil Affairs Brigade, partnered with Moldovan Soldiers to evaluate seven EUCOM projects…
“We are here to evaluate how the HA projects align with the Department of State and European Command’s strategic objectives,” said Capt. Nathan Gardner, Company A’s commander, who led the team. “EUCOM provides the funding for these projects. We’re here representing the EUCOM HA program.”
Gardner, a Rocky Mount, N.C.-native, said the assessments determine if the projects were effectively implemented and are being sustained by Moldova, a partner nation. They give their work to EUCOM headquarters and the U.S. Embassy in Moldova’s Office of Defense Cooperation
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At each site, the team spoke with key leaders, project supervisors and people who use the services, Pekarcik said. Roughly 50 percent of the Moldovan citizens interviewed knew of U.S. involvement in the projects.
“One of the shop owners knew that the U.S. had invested money to get the project going,” Pekarcik said, after a fire station visit. “We’re seeing that they have an idea that the U.S. was involved, but they don’t know all the details.”
Moldova’s Prime Minister Vlad Filat at NATO headquarters last year
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Moldovan Soldiers made key contributions to the assessments and reports, Gardner said, as they “view the projects from a Moldova perspective.”
Moldovan Army 1st Lt. Simion Bitca, a military intelligence officer from Moldova’s special forces battalion, was familiar with the U.S. projects, how they are managed and how U.S. troops operate overseas.
“It’s important for us because we have similar activities,” Bitca said. “It will be a good experience for us for the future projects in our country or also for the future missions for my battalion.”
Having Moldovan soldiers on the team builds their capabilities and shapes ours, said Staff Sgt. David Heath, a Company A team sergeant.
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