Romanian Soldier Disarmed by Masked Aggressor while Guarding Military Unit in Constanta

One incident after another – this could be the motto of the Romanian Ministry of Defense these days. Two severe incidents occurred in March. In the first one, two military aircraft crashed on the same day, killing eight. Another one happened on Friday, March 18, when one soldier coordinating the maneuvers of a tank was crushed during procedures.

Another tragedy was about to happen on Saturday night. One masked individual trespassed one military unit in Constanta, near the Black Sea, and stole the gun and ammunition of the military securing the guarding of the premises.

According to the press release issued by the Romanian Ministry of Defense, a soldier from the 110 Communications and Informatics Center in Mamaia Sat, Constanta county, was attacked on Saturday, March 19, while performing the guard service in the military unit. An unidentified person, wearing a hood and armed with a knife, broke into the perimeter of the army unit at around 8.15 pm and attacked the soldier.

The quoted source says the soldier in the guard station applied the legal procedures, resisted in the face-to-face confrontation with the aggressor, but was deprived of the weapon and a 30-cartridge magazine.

After taking possession of the weapon and ammunition, the assailant left the unit’s perimeter (jumped the fence), and the assaulted soldier urgently notified the commander of the guard corps and the commander of the unit.

The Military Prosecutor’s Office and the police investigate the event.

The incident determined the leadership of the Ministry of National Defense to order urgently, at the level of all military units, measures to strengthen the security services and verify the security plans and defense of military objectives.

This third incident implying Romanian military personnel, raises considerable concerns regarding the training level of the Romanian soldiers. This happens in a context when the Romanian people need to feel defended more than any other time before. Unfortunately, the series of incidents shows that, on the contrary, the army needs serious training before anything else.