Photo By Christopher Gardner | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Resident Engineer for Romania and...... read more read more
CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania -- Local Nationals play a key role in delivering U.S. Army Corps of Engineers missions across Europe and maintaining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District’s talented, professional LN workforce is important to mission success.
That’s why personnel from Europe District’s Romania Resident Office recently engaged with the next generation of engineers in Romania during a career days event hosted by Cluj-Napoca Technical University earlier this month, helping students build and expand their skill set while also introducing them to opportunities with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Romania.
“It would be very difficult to run projects in Romania without our LN’s,” said Europe District’s Romania and Bulgaria Resident Engineer Nelson Mora. “They help us to connect with other local government entities in Romania, saving us time and avoiding construction delays on all our contracts. Also, Romanian LN’s are very intelligent, hard workers, able to quickly grasp new concepts and want to show us they can resolve any engineering issues by themselves.”
Mora, an American Department of the Army Civilian who leads the USACE Romania and Bulgaria Resident Office, was joined by two Romanian LN’s from his team for the event where they met and engaged with several hundred students. His team, based on Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, is responsible for overseeing ongoing construction led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers all over Romania. The mission in Romania includes work at MK Air Base and projects helping to increase the capacity and capabilities of Romanian military facilities at Campia Turzii and the Cincu Training Area.
Project Engineer Razvan Fenesan, one of eight LN’s in the Romania Resident Office, grew up in Cluj-Napoca and joined Mora for the engagement.
“The event at the University of Cluj-Napoca went very well and the students were very curious about USACE, because - like myself, when I was also was a student there - they never heard about the Corps,” Fenesan said. “The students had many questions regarding USACE’s locations of work, types of works, and requirements to become an USACE Engineer and we were happy answer their questions.”
In addition to helping the future engineers learn more about the Corps of Engineers’ mission in Romania and future opportunities, the Romania Resident Office team also guest lectured courses in hands on construction quality management techniques used at Europe District construction sites, conducted mock interviews with students and more.
At first though, LN Project Engineer Mirela Chirita noted that some students had to get past misconceptions surrounding working with the Corps of Engineers’ mission.
“It was a slow start as students thought that we are recruiting for military at the beginning but once we clarified ‘we were not looking for snipers or building tanks,’ the atmosphere became more friendly,” Chirita said. “We presented our organization, simulated interviews to help students prepare for the future and provided them with feedback. It was a good opportunity to clarify that we are engineers providing support for different military branches in building dedicated military buildings, humanitarian projects and others.”
Though the team was not looking to recruit Soldiers, the nature of the projects in Romania and the importance of the missions and units they support plays a big part in why many Americans and LN’s choose to be a part of the efforts in Romania and across Europe.
Fenesan, who supports European Deterrence Initiative construction projects like airfield and infrastructure improvements designed to increase the capacity of the Romanian Air Force’s Campia Turzii Air Base, said in addition to the work being interesting, he takes a special pride in being able to support the construction mission in Romania.
“The main reason why I joined the Corps is to participate and be involved in the process of making a difference in the world and helping to ensure a better future for NATO and my country.”
NOTE: When Local National positions with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other U.S. Army commands in Romania and other parts of Europe are hiring, they are listed on the U.S. Army Europe and Africa web site here: https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Jobs/
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2023 04:57 |
| Story ID: | 441539 |
| Location: | CLUJ-NAPOCA, RO |
| Web Views: | 608 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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