The Spanish Marine Infantry face harsh winter conditions in Cincu, Romania

This year, the Marine Infantry is participating in the Spanish military deployment in the countries on NATO's eastern flank.

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A month and a half ago, the deployment of the Romanian Marine Infantry Force I (FIMAR-R-I) began, a tactical subgroup made up of 250 soldiers and around 40 vehicles of the Marine Infantry Brigade "Tercio de Armada" (TEAR), in order to integrate into a multinational battalion led by France. Part of the personnel and material was sent by an Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft of the 31st Air Force Wing from the Rota Naval Base to Brasov International Airport in Romania.

A month ago, the return of the FIMAR-R-I contingent set sail from Rota aboard the Amphibious Assault Ship "Castilla" L-52, escorted by the frigate "Canarias" F-86.

The TEAR deployment in Romania includes MOWAG Piranha IIIC infantry fighting vehicles; VAMTAC ST5 tactical vehicles with Spike anti-tank missile launchers, machine guns and 81 mm mortars; and Iveco-Pegaso M.250 trucks.

The FIMAR-R-I tactical subgroup includes a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) team, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team, a Parrot unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) reconnaissance team, and a medical detachment, among other components.

As a curiosity, in this deployment the Spanish Marine Corps has abandoned its arid pixelated camouflage uniforms, which they have been using for more than a decade in Spain and in their deployments abroad, to use woody pixelated camouflage uniforms, used until now by the Army and by the Marine Corps students of the Naval Military School of Marín, but very rare to see in other units of the Navy.

The ship "Castilla" arrived at the Greek port of Alexandroupoli with the TEAR vehicles, which were transported to Romania via Bulgaria by rail and road. The vehicles were unloaded at the Dumbrăveni railway station, in central Romania, and then transported to Cincu, the headquarters of the "General Berthelot" Camp of the NATO multinational battalion.

The third and final FIMAR-R-I group arrived in Romania in mid-November, aboard an Airbus A330 MRTT of the 45th Air Force Group, which transported 130 TEAR soldiers.

Although it is still autumn, TEAR soldiers have encountered a purely winter environment in Circu, as we can see in this series of photos published today by the General Staff of the Defense (EMAD). Here we can see some of the TEAR vehicles covered in snow:

The VAMTAC ST5.

MOWAG Piranha IIIC armored vehicles.

Iveco-Pegaso M.250 trucks.

Here we see the interior of one of the MOWAG Piranha IIIC, and below these lines, the purely winter environment of Cincu.

This Monday, maximum temperatures of 7ºC and minimum temperatures of -2ºC were expected in Cincu. If these temperatures are already present in autumn, everything indicates that our Marines are going to endure a freezing winter in that country. My best wishes to them on this mission.

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Photos: Estado Mayor de la Defensa / NATO Force Integration Unit Romania.