Photo By Capt. Ryan Elizabeth Black | USO Tour VIPs, Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau of the United...... read more read more
CINCU, Romania -- On May 16 – 21, 2016, for the first time in its 75-year history, the USO joined forces with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Frank J. Grass, for a variety-style USO entertainment Tour abroad.
Since its establishment in 1941, the USO has been the nation’s leading organization to serve the men and women in uniform and their families from the moment they join the military.
Through domestic and international assignments, deployments to combat zones in places too dangerous for anyone but combat troops to occupy and all of the transitional phases in between, the USO is present to build the morale and sustain the resiliency of our armed forces. The USO continuously adapts to the needs of military service members while operating at USO centers at or near military installations across the United States and around the globe.
The focus of this year’s USO Tour was to visit training sites and combat zones of deployed National Guard Soldiers in six days in Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and the primary Resolute Castle training operations site in Romania. Scheduled activities included in the Tour were USO musical and entertainment shows, meet and greets and job site visits. Leading the historic USO Tour this year was Chief of National Guard Bureau Gen. Frank J. Grass.
As the 27th Chief of the National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Grass serves as a military adviser to the President, Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and is the Department of Defense’s official channel of communication to the Governors and State Adjutants General on all matters pertaining to the National Guard. In these capacities he is also responsible for ensuring the more than 470,000 Army and Air National Guard personnel are accessible, capable and ready to protect the homeland and provide combat resources to the Army and Air Force.
Accompanying Gen. Grass and his Romanian military counterparts, including Gen. Nicolae Ciuca, Romanian Commanding General Chief of Staff, were special guest actors Robert Patrick and Matthew Lillard, platinum-selling country star Jerrod Niemann, NBA legend and Olympic Gold Medalist Sam Perkins and Top 10 in the world UFC middleweight and Texas National Guard, Tim Kennedy. During the USO Tour visit, Gen. Grass and his VIPs got the opportunity to witness the initial construction projects and phases specifically for Resolute Castle Soldiers at Cincu Training Range while meeting and entertaining Soldiers on the ground. After arriving to Cincu, Lt. Col. Shawn Arnold, 877th Engineer Battalion Commander, gave an updated in-brief of Cincu’s current area of operations and a breakdown of the Resolute Castle 16 agenda. The main priorities of interest for the visit were to evaluate the goals of RC 16 while assessing and observing current progress of all construction projects and Military Police operations training. Following the job and training site visits, the USO VIPs were able to have lunch at the Cincu DFAC with both United States and Romanian Soldiers and ended the Tour with a traditional USO show.
During the USO Tour of Cincu Training Range, Gen. Grass and his VIPs continuously expressed their sincere appreciation for the contributions of the National Guard Soldiers and praised them for their exceptional leadership, hard work and dedication to the Resolute Castle 2016 mission. The 877th Engineer Battalion, Alabama Army National Guard, partnered with the 10th Engineer Brigade units from Romanian Land Forces, holds mission command at Cincu, Romania for the entire 6-month duration. The 877th Engineer Battalion falls under the command of the 194th Engineer Brigade from the Tennessee Army National Guard. The 194th holds command across the four European countries for Resolute Castle 16 training.
Operation Atlantic Resolve is a United States Army and Europe-lead, multinational operation. The mission is to strengthen U.S. relations, trust and comradery with NATO allies. RC 2016 includes support from a multi-component task force comprised of Active Duty, Reserve, Navy Seabees, and multi-state National Guard forces. Through these partnerships, the interoperability with coalition forces are fortified while working together to improve training sites in Romania, Estonia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Cincu Training Range is the fundamental area of operation in Romania for RC 16. Cincu priorities of work include tasks spanning from both horizontal and vertical construction improvements to military police training and special operations.
The USO Tour VIPs, as well as Gen. Grass and Gen. Ciuta, fulfilled their mission in providing National Guard Soldiers the recognition [and a little bit of R&R] they deserve while being away from home and their families for military duty.
"It's wonderful to see this talented group taking time away from their schedules to personally thank American troops. My wife, Pat, and I would like to thank the USO for its efforts to support troops and families for the past 75 years. It's truly a pleasure to work with them for this first National Guard-hosted USO tour," Gen. Grass stated at the start of his six-day USO Tour. Additionally, the USO Tour gave the NGB the perfect opportunity to further enhance and solidify United States and Romanian partnerships while building life-long memories together.
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2016 09:26 |
| Story ID: | 199961 |
| Location: | CINCU, RO |
| Web Views: | 589 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USO Visits Alabama Army National Guard at Cincu, Romania during Operation Resolute Castle, by CPT Ryan Elizabeth Black, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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