Remarks by Brig. Gen. Paul Brier, Commander, Marine Corps Forces Europe

The late U.S. President Reagan once said, "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."

I believe that what is true of all who serve their country is that they are making a difference. The cooperation and training demonstrated by the Black Sea Rotational Force is the type of engagement that will build the friendships and partnerships required for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Since 2001, the Marine Corps, as the Force in Readiness for the United States, has been actively engaged in operations around the world. During this time several nations have stood out in support of these efforts. Romania and Ukraine have distinguished themselves in Overseas Contingency Operations as contributors to global security during operations in locations as diverse as Liberia and Afghanistan. Now, as the Marine Corps has completely withdrawn from Iraq, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Conway, has directed that we get back to our expeditionary roots. His vision includes the creation of Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Forces that focus on building relationships and increasing interoperability with partner and allied nations. With this in mind, Marine Forces Europe created the Black Sea Rotational Force-10 as the proof of concept Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

During this inaugural deployment of the BSRF, it has partnered with 11 nations, conducted over 25 events and will have executed over 40 percent of the security cooperation activities conducted by Marine Forces Europe in 2010. It is safe to say that the mission has been accomplished. More important than the quantitative accomplishments, the Marines of BSRF have been able to create enduring friendships and develop relationships with friends and partners that will last beyond today. Marines, job well done.

To our Romanian hosts and Ukrainian partners, I trust that the training received during peacekeeping operations, the familiarizations conducted during military to military exchanges, the community relations projects accomplished together, and ideas share during the symposiums have been a worthwhile endeavor for you. Your Marines and Soldiers have performed magnificently in every phase of this summer's events and have enhanced their abilities and capacity. I hope that the friendships made during this summer's activities will be an enduring bond that strengthen the ties between our nations and lay the foundation for future events that strengthen our security and friendships.

Events such as these are terrific opportunities for the Marine Corps to work with others. My staff is already working with your staffs to coordinate activities for next year's events which expand in both size and duration. These events will include peacekeeping operations training, counter-insurgency training, military to military familiarizations, symposiums, bi-lateral aviation events, conducting "train the trainer" noncommissioned officer academies and expanding our community relations projects.

It is easy for me to see the future value of the BSRF to the Marine Corps. I hope that it is evident to all of you as well that these opportunities to work with U.S. Marines provide valuable insight into how we do our business. The lessons our Marines have learned from your Marines and Soldiers are extremely valuable. We will incorporate them into our future endeavors.

I thank the people of Romania for hosting and supporting these activities. Without your cooperation in providing air medical evacuation capability, security during all events, and the use of MK Airfield as a base of support, none of what we all need here could have been done. I would also like to thank our Ukrainian friends for their determined efforts to get here and their successful execution of all the training objectives. Security cooperation is an important activity for all of us. The BSRF, as the initial SC MAGTF, has been instrumental in providing a well trained theater security cooperation force in a cost-effective manner. This has been a resounding success and we look forward to future rotations and engagements. I am proud to serve alongside all of you, working hard every day to make a difference.

Remarks by Lt. Col. Tom Gordon, Commander, Black Sea Rotational Force

Good afternoon, and welcome to the closing ceremony for the Black Sea Rotational Force-10. Before I introduce our distinguished guests, I would ask for a moment of silence in respect for Platoon Adjutant Petre Onofre. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family

I would like to thank the Romanian people, so well represented by their Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen, for their incredible hospitality. Since our arrival two months ago, my Marines and I have felt welcomed and have been afforded the opportunity to enjoy Romania's rich culture, while completing a vitally important mission. One of my sergeants said it best when conducting maneuvers in Babadag - he said it was like training in a painting. We learned quickly, though, not to let the beauty of the area fool you - the Romanian Soldiers and Marines came to train, and train hard we did. The examples set by our Marines and Soldiers training together with Macedonian and Ukrainian Soldiers provides a powerful and lasting example of our collective strength and commitment to the security of the Black Sea and Caucasus regions. As a commander with two companies in Afghanistan today, I am confident to have Romanians, Macedonians or Ukrainians on my flank.

As a tailorable, scalable Security Cooperating Marine Air-Ground Task Force, the Black Sea Rotational Force proved ideally suited to meet European Command's theater security cooperation objectives in a strategically significant area of the world. As a Marine Air-Ground Task Force, we were able to simultaneously engage and train with the Romanian Air, Land, Naval and Special Operations Forces. We conducted three 2-week field exercises in Babadag Training Area with Romanian Land Forces and Marines, as well as Soldiers from Macedonia and Ukraine. The focus was on peacekeeping operations, utilizing NATO standards and the UN SOP. From our forward-deployed location we were able to conduct over 25 events in 12 countries across the Black Sea, Caucasus and Balkan regions. We combined with the Romanians to host symposiums on intelligence, and civil and military affairs. Well attended by field grade officers from throughout the AOR, these symposiums provide to be great opportunity for U.S. forces not only to share our tactics, techniques and procedures with the partner nations but were a great opportunity to openly discuss and learn from our partners. Our KC-130 detachment, in close coordination with the Romanian Air Force and Special Forces certified over 400 Romanian paratroopers to descend from U.S. military aircraft. Most significant though has been Romania's commitment and hospitality that made all of this multilateral training possible.

In the relatively short time we have been here, my Marines and Sailors have tried to give something back. We conducted three community relations projects that included repairs to some children homes in the area as well as donations of clothing and toys from back in the States. These projects, though small, are examples of our resolve to not only strengthen the military-to-military relationship, but to build a rapport with the local community.

Though this is the closing ceremonies, our work here is not done. As we transition the exercise to Bulgaria and Ukraine for Sea Breeze, some of my Marines will continue their engagement in Romania, completing a final symposium on logistics and we will continue to train with our Romanian Marine brothers. As Marines we are not known for being subtle. The BSRF name in itself indicates our resolve to continue our efforts in this region. A rotational presence of U.S. Marines will significantly increase the level of cooperation between our militaries. With expanded training opportunities, our collective security will be increased by improved interoperability.

The Black Sea Rotational Force is a partnership that I am proud to say has grown in to a friendship.

Thank you.