Naval Support Facility Deveselu, Romania - A group of 22 multinational NATO delegates led by Rear Adm. Roy Kitchener, U.S. deputy military representative, NATO Military Committee, visited Deveselu, Romania, today.

During the visit, guests met with Romanian 99th Military Base leadership and also toured Naval Support Facility (NSF) Deveselu and Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) Romania. NSF Deveselu and AAMDS Romania are co-located on board the Romanian 99th Military Base in Deveselu and play a key role in ballistic missile defense (BMD) in Eastern Europe.

The guests, representing Poland, Germany, Lithuania, France, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Denmark, Turkey and Romania, arrived from the local airport and were escorted onto the Romanian base for a meeting with Romanian Army Col. Gheorghe Stancu, the chief of staff for the Romanian 99th Military Base.

According to Stancu, visits from so many delegates from different nations helps to show our allies how we successfully operate and integrate our two militaries and also shows guests a different part of the world. He also stressed how the base makes good use of the landscape and available resources to successfully complete its primary mission, providing security to NSF Deveselu and AAMDS Romania.

After meeting with Romanian military representatives, the group proceeded to NSF Deveselu for lunch and a tour of the base followed by a tour of AAMDS Romania. During their tour of AAMDS Romania, led by Cmdr. Mark Fegley, commanding officer of AAMDS Romania, the group was able to learn about the land based component of the Aegis BMD system and witnessed a simulated exercise.

"Actually visiting and seeing the integration between the Navy and Romanian forces truly proves that there is a lot of synergy between these two groups," said Kitchener. "We have put all of these service members together and they show that they can really perform. I don't think until you actually come out here and see all that they have accomplished you can really appreciate the investment and time the Sailors have put in."

As the first Navy shore installation commissioned since Everett, Wash., in 1987, NSF Deveselu is located in south-central Romania aboard the Romanian 99th Military Base. Its mission is to provide installation facilities, resources, and services to support and enable AAMDS Romania's operational abilities.