National Army holds first general rehearsal for Independence Day Parade

Over 1500 troops marched on Wednesday, August 17, in the first general rehearsal for the parade in the Great National Assembly Square. After inspecting the column of soldiers and the 65 machinery units, Minister of Defense Vitalie Marinuta said the troops were ready for the Independence Day parade on August 27, Info-Prim Neo reports. The soldiers and the machinery arrived in the Great National Assembly Square by 5 AM, when the training started. At 9 AM, when the heads of the Executive arrived, the 1,500 troops, officers of the Ministry of the Interior and of the Border Guards, formed a column of 12 units facing the stage. The general rehearsal started with the hoisting of the national colors of Moldova, the war flag and Stefan cel Mare’s reigning flag. Then, Minister of Defense Vitalie Marinuta and Brigade General Vitalie Stoianov saluted in convertibles each of the military troops. The parade was opened by the honor guard, followed by the army veterans led by Division General Ion Costas, the first Minister of Defense. The next marched the squad of the Ministry of Defense, the motorized infantry brigade Stefan cel Mare, the guard battalion, the 22nd peacekeeping battalion and the special destination battalion. They were followed by troops of the Border Guards Service, the Police Academy, the Lyceum of Cadets Sf. Gheorghe, the special destination police brigade, the Carabineers and the Military Academy of Armed Forces Alexandru cel Bun. The parade was ended by the march of military machinery, engineer squads, special troops, artillery and air defense technology. Minister of Defense Vitalie Marinuta said after the rehearsal that there were only a few details yet to be worked out. “I think the soldiers are ready for the parade. On August 27, their performance will be top-notch”, he said. Prime Minister Vlad Filat attended the rehearsal and looked happy with the soldiers’ training. “I’m satisfied with their level of preparation. The machinery is in good condition. However, we have many problems to solve in this regard, beginning with the improvement of the National Army’s professionalism and finding enough financing, so that the Army was up to any challenge. At this moment, the troops’ training is satisfactory”, said the Prime Minister. Brigadier General Vitalie Stoianov assured that everything would be ready until August 27. He spoke about the condition of the machinery and informed that about 3 million lei were spent on painting and repairing the units. The exercise lasted less than an hour. On August 27, the parade will begin at 10 AM.