Florinel Enache (born January 8, 1974 in

Gura Caliței Gura Caliței is a commune located in Vrancea County, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the ...

) is a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n soldier with over 23 years of service, seriously injured on May 4, 2012, while on a research and recon mission in

Zabul Province Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zab ...

, Highway A1,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Sergeant Major Florinel Enache who was part of the 282 Mechanized Infantry Battalion that carried out missions in Afghanistan's

. The 282 battalion from

Focșani Focșani (; ) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. , it has a population of 66,719. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curvature Carpathians, at a point of ...

(East) sent mid-January 2012, a number of 600 troops to Afghanistan for a six-month rotation. Enache was grievously injured on May 4, 2012. The military was rushed at Laghman, Afghanistan and then to

Landstuhl Landstuhl (), officially the Sickingen Town of Landstuhl (), is a town in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Municipal Association of Landstuhl. Situated on the north-west edge of the Palatin ...

, Germany, where doctors tried to save his life. The sub-officer (NCO) suffered severe wounds from the blast of an improvised explosive device while being on a scouting land mission to secure an objective on A1 highway in Afghanistan. He suffered severe wounds from a detonated explosive device (EAD). Both legs were amputated from the pelvis area and his left arm from above the elbow. Also, he suffered a numerous contusions and back injuries. Enache was brought to

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC; formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med) is a United States military medical center located in B ...

on May 26, 2012. In August 2012 the Embassy of Romania in Washington, D.C. sent out a humanitarian call for Romanian Soldier Florinel Enache. On March 6, 2013, Enache was visited at the Walter Reed Medical Center by the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. A photo provided by the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

and posted on the Facebook page of the Embassy of the United States in Bucharest, President Obama standing by the side of Enache who lies on a hospital bed at the hospital in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. Enache was transported back to his native country of Romania on May 13, 2013, and he arrived in his homeland on May 15 on a US Air Force aircraft. He was welcomed by the Romanian Minister of Defense,

Mircea Dușa Mircea Dușa (1 April 1955 – 19 December 2022) was a Romanian economist and politician, who was the minister of the Interior from 6 August to 21 December 2012, and then Minister of National Defense from 21 December 2012 to 17 November 2015, ...

. His Romanian Unit comrades welcomed him as well. It was the first time since the accident that they got to see Sergeant Major Enache.

Awards

Medal of Faithful Service The Medal of Faithful Service () was instituted by King Carol I in April 1878. History The medal was worn until 1932 on a light blue ribbon with a yellow central stripe on the left side of the chest. From 1932, the award was presented on a light ...

, First Class awarded by the President of Romania

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Enache, Florinel 1974 births Living people People from Vrancea County Romanian Land Forces personnel Military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Eastern Orthodox Christians from Romania