The Multinational Brigade South-East (MN BDE SE) is an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

of the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the La ...

. Until April 2017 the brigade was named 2nd Infantry Brigade " Rovine", but has since become one of Romania's contributions to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The "Rovine" was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

for

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United ...

missions.

History

The brigade was formed on 1 April 1883. It participated in both World Wars. In 1916, the Brigade was composed of the 1st and the 31st Infantry Regiment, and was part of the

1st Infantry Division 1st Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) *1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) *1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoured Division (Australi ...

. It took part in the Romanian Campaign of World War I, and in the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War was fought between Hungary and Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. The Allies of World War I intended ...

of 1919. In 1970, the 2nd Infantry Brigade Craiova was formed. It was named after the

Battle of Rovine The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395. The Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea the Elder opposed the Ottoman invasion personally led by Sultan Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. The Turkish force heavily outnumbered the Wallachian troops ...

, which took place in 1395. Starting from 1995, the brigade began participating in international exercises. Troops from the brigade were also deployed in international missions in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

, and

. During the deployment to Angola, the

26th Infantry Battalion 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

took the nickname "Red Scorpions". During the multinational deployments, the name of the unit was registered as such by an American commander, thus becoming the first Romanian unit with an official nickname. Following the 26th Battalion example, the other battalions of the brigade also received a "scorpion" nickname.

Multinational Brigade

Piranha V - Activity conducted at Smârdan

During the 2016 Warsaw summit,

NATO secretary general The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 t ...

announced that a Romanian Army brigade was going to be transformed into a NATO Multinational Brigade. Following a meeting of the Romanian Supreme Council of National Defence in September 2016, the

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indiv ...

announced that the 2nd Infantry Brigade was to take the role of the multinational brigade. The Multinational Brigade was declared fully operational by the Deputy Commander of the Allied Land Command in 2018 following the evaluation exercise Scorpions Fury 2018. The brigade is currently subordinated to the

Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast (HQ MND-SE) is NATO's command and control military body in the South-East region under the Multinational Corps Southeast. The operational control is handled by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( ...

from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

. On 10 August 2023, structures of the Multinational Brigade participated at the establishment ceremony of the newly created 24th Infantry Battalion. The new battalion, named after

Ecaterina Teodoroiu Ecaterina Teodoroiu (; born Cătălina Toderoiu; 15 January 1894 – 3 September 1917) was a Romanian woman who fought on the front and died in World War I, and is regarded as a heroine of Romania. A Romanian Scouts member, she had initially w ...

, is to be subordinated to the brigade and has its headquarters in

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polat ...

Organization 2022

* Multinational Brigade South-East (HQ MN BDE-SE), in

Craiova ) , official_name = Craiova , image_skyline = , image_caption = From left: Dolj County Prefecture • Constantin Mihail Palace • Bibescu Manor House • Carol I National College • Museum of Oltenia • University of Craiova , i ...

** 20th Infantry Battalion " Dolj" ("Black Scorpions"), in Craiova ** 22nd Infantry Battalion " Romanați" ("Green Scorpions"), in

Caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

*** Portuguese Contingent (''Força Nacional Destacada'' - FND), in Caracal ** 24th Infantry Battalion "

" ("Gray Scorpions"), in

" Neagoe Basarab" ("Red Scorpions"), in Craiova ***

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Motorized Company, in Craiova ** 116th Logistic Battalion "

Iancu Jianu Iancu Jianu (; 1787 – 14 December 1842), also Ioniță Jianu, was a Wallachian Romanian hajduk. Biography Born in Caracal, Oltenia, Wallachia, in 1787, to the Jianu boyar family, as the youngest of four brothers. His father, Costache Jianu, wa ...

" ("Golden Scorpions"), in Craiova ** 205th Air Defense Battalion "General Gheorghe Pârvulescu" ("Blue Scorpions"), in Craiova ** 325th Artillery Battalion " Alutus" ("Fire Scorpions"), in Caracal ** Battle Group Forward Presence (BGFP), in

Cincu Cincu (german: Großschenk; hu, Nagysink) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Cincu and Toarcla (''Tarteln''; ''Kisprázsmár''). Each of these has a fortified church. Geography The commune is ...

** Army of North Macedonia Contingent, in Caracal

References

External links

*
Official Site of the Romanian Land Forces

Headquarters Multinational Brigade South East official Facebook page
{{North Atlantic Treaty Organization Brigades of Romania Military units and formations established in 1970 Military units and formations of NATO