U.S. Army soldiers and Bulgarian Land Forces soldiers display some of the firefighting equipment after a handover event facilitated by Regional Support Group-Black Sea and 32450 Mokren Command.
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NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, Bulgaria – In an effort to improve capabilities and interoperability across the ranges of Novo Selo Training Area, the Black Sea Area Support Group executed an equipment order to the fire section of 32450 Mokren Command, following a request made by the United States military. Soldiers assigned to the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion in 2021, and delivered by soldiers assigned to the 407th Civil Affairs Team at the command headquarters in Mokren, Bulgaria, April 27, 2022.
Bulgarian NSTA Ground Forces Commander Lt. Col. Petar Petrov said: “When we have good equipment, it allows us to react quickly and we become more efficient in extinguishing possible fires. This allows us to provide better support and organize good conditions for all training exercises that are conducted on the range.”
Equipment delivered to Mokren Command included personal protective equipment and forest firefighting tools such as: fire shelters, boots, pants, shirts, gloves, helmets and rakes at forest fire.
Republic of Bulgaria Lt. Col. Petar Petrov, commander of Novo Selo Bulgarian Land Forces Training Area (center), and Major Pavel Gigov (left) inspect new firefighting equipment during a handover event with U.S. Army soldiers from Area Support Group- Black Sea and 407th Civil Affairs Battalion at NSTA, Bulgaria, April 27, 2022.
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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Scott Wendt, assigned to the 615th Engineer Detachment Firefighting Headquarters, Illinois Army National Guard, discusses the benefits of using fire blanket during a handover event with 32450 Mokren Command and 407th Civil Affairs Battalion at NSTA, Bulgaria on 27 April 2022.
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“We discussed the possibility of planning a combined training with the US Army firefighters and the Mokren command to observe and train with equipment from both sides,” Petrov said. “We would also like to coordinate the two parties to establish a standard operating procedure in the event of an emergency.”
Mokren’s command previously relied on assistance from the Kotel Fire Department, but the emphasis is now on cooperation and partnership between Bulgarian and American forces.
“We [U.S. firefighters] really support them [Bulgarian firefighters] on the range, and we are working on a mutual aid agreement to allow the Bulgarians to help us if we need them,” said U.S. Army Master Sgt. Scott Wendt, assigned to 615th Engineer Firefighting Headquarters, Illinois Army National Guard, who is currently the deputy commander of the U.S. Army Fire Section at Novo Training Area Selo.
The Novo Selo Training Area is a training facility operated by the Black Sea Regional Support Group and hosts U.S. military personnel from V Corps as part of bilateral defense cooperation with Bulgaria. V Corps, the U.S. forward-deployed Corps in Europe, works alongside NATO Allies and regional security partners, such as Bulgaria, to provide combat-ready forces, execute joint training exercises multinationals and retain command and control of all units rotated and assigned to the European theatre. .
To learn more about the V Corps, visit: https://www.vcorps.army.mil/
To learn more about US Army Europe and Africa, visit: https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/
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