Romanian Air Force awards Emblem of Honour to four RCAF members

News Article / July 21, 2014

From the Department of National Defence

On Saturday, July 19, 2014, the Chief of the Romanian Air Force Staff, Major-General Laurian Anastasof, awarded the Romanian Air Force Emblem of Honour to four members of the Canadian Air Task Force (ATF) deployed in Campia Turzii, Romania.

The recipients of the decoration were Lieutenant-Colonel David Pletz, commander of Air Task Force Romania; Lieutenant-Colonel Luc Girouard, deputy commander and chief of staff; Chief Warrant Officer Alain Roy, Air Task Force Romania chief warrant officer; and Captain Jean-François Lambert, public affairs officer.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I congratulate our four Canadian Armed Forces members who received the Romanian Air Force Emblem of Honour,” said Defence Minister Rob Nicholson. “Their dedication demonstrates Canada’s ongoing commitment to nurturing and strengthening our international military partnerships.”

The awards ceremony took place during the Romanian Air Force Day event and was attended by the Canadian Ambassador to Romania, Her Excellency Madame Joanne Lemay.

“We are honoured and proud to receive the Romanian Air Force Emblem of Honour on behalf of Canada and the men and women of the Royal Canadian Air Force,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Pletz. “We’re proud of what our two partnering air forces have achieved. We both have worked hard; and together, we have achieved our common goals. It gives me a great sense of pride to see how far we have gone in further enhancing our interoperability with our Romanian allies.”

The Air Task Force arrived in Campia Turzii in May 2014 as part of NATO Reassurance Measures to promote security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe. Since then, the cooperation between Canadian and Romanian airmen and airwomen has been outstanding, not just amongst aircrew, but across many components of the Air Task Force – from firefighters, medical staff, engineers, maintenance, to logistics and other trades supporting flying operations.

• The Romanian Air Force Emblem of Honour is awarded as a sign of appreciation for the commitment and dedication a person demonstrated while performing a military mission.
• The Canadian ATF Romania is the air component of Operation Reassurance, which is Canada’s contribution to NATO Reassurance Measures promoting security and stability in Central and Eastern Europe.
• The Canadian Air Task Force Romania includes six CF-18 Hornets, a command and control element, a mission support element providing logistical support, and an operational support element providing operational support to air assets including force protection, intelligence, aerospace management and maintenance coordination.
• The Air Task Force is composed of approximately 200 airmen and airwomen from 3 Wing Bagotville and 2 Wing Bagotville, Quebec, 17 Wing Winnipeg, Manitoba, 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia, 4 Wing Cold Lake, Ontario, and 22 Wing North Bay, Ontario.
• Multinational training opportunities conducted by the Royal Canadian Air Force with other NATO allies, allows personnel to improve trust and confidence in each nation’s capability.
• In August, Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 aircraft will relocate to Lithuania to augment the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission from September to December 2014. The deployment of fighter aircraft to participate in NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission further demonstrates Canada's concern for the security situation in Central and Eastern Europe, and our resolute support for NATO's collective defence.