Description
MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, ROMANIA Built in 1955, as a military airbase, Mihail Kogălniceanu Airport opened for civil operations in May 1960, when it replaced the old Palas Airport (founded in 1932).
As of October 2009 the US has spent $48 million upgrading the base. Plans are for the base to initially host 1,700 US and Romanian military personnel. Since 2009 the US operates a Permanent Forward Operating Site several times larger than the temporary base housed in the former 57th Air Base; the new base has 78 buildings and uses the land of the former Romanian 34th Infantry Brigade base.
Currently hundreds of Americans and international military paratroopers jump from a half-dozen cargo aircraft soaring over Romania May 11 culminated weeks of U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz continuous support to one of the Army’s premier exercises.
The garrison’s participation in DEFENDER-Europe 21 via its sites in Romania and Bulgaria, known as Area Support Activity-Black Sea, is a multipronged, ongoing effort staging American and international Soldiers and equipment for success. About 1,000 American Soldiers and Airmen, and Dutch, Polish, and German soldiers, called “MK” home. Much of the garrison’s effort in Romania culminated with a “joint forcible entry” conducted on Boboc Air Base, Romania, with 6 Polish Airborne Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, German/Dutch 11 Air Assault Brigade, and Romanian 495th Parachute Battalion. This was part of three near-simultaneous airborne operations done by multiple NATO allied nations supporting Swift Response 21, a military crisis response training event for multinational airborne forces, and another facet of DEFENDER-Europe 21.
Meanwhile, at the garrison site in Bulgaria, efforts continue in an austere environment. The Novo Selo Training Area comprises about 56 square miles of training space used by the U.S. and NATO for tank training and much more. More than 1,000 people have bulked up the site’s population, though much of their work starts later.
Minted in nickel and given antique silver finish, this coin is imbued with bold colorful enamel on both sides.
This coin measures 1 3/4 inch (44mm) in diameter.
This is a surplus NWTM item. Packaging may vary.
