Romanian Army

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Romanian Army
Image:Statul Major General.JPG Image:1 1 SMG steag.jpg
Military manpower
Military age	20 years of age for compulsory military service, 18 in wartime; conscript service obligation - 12 months; 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2004)
Availability	males age 15–49: 5,952,834 (2004 est.)
Fit for military service	males age 15–49: 5,007,375 (2004 est.)
Reaching military age annually	males: 163,577 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures
Amount	$985 million (2002)
Percent of GDP	2.47% (2002)

Image:01 - Armata Românã.jpg

The Romanian Army (Armata Română) consists of three branches:

The term "army" is used in Romania when referring to the entire military, while "land forces" deal only with the actual army itself.

Romania joined NATO in 2004. As a consequence, extensive preparations have been made for the abolishment of conscription and the transition to a professional army by 2007, which would include 90,000 men and women. About 75,000 of these are the military personnel, while 15,000 is made up of civilians. Out of the 75,000, cca. 45,800 make up the Romanian Land Forces, 13,250 are the Romanian Air Forces and 6,800 are in the Romanian Naval Forces, while the remaining 8,800 serve in other fields <ref>Adevărul Romania, cel mai important dintre viitorii membri ai NATO ("Romania, the most important among the future NATO members"), November 20, 2002</ref>.

According to the Romanian Ministry of Defence, the Romanian Military had at the end of 2006 about 93,600 men and women [1].

Image:Cercul Militar Nat 2.jpg

This article is part of the Romanian military series Image:01 - Armata Românã.jpg Romanian Land Forces Romanian Air Forces Romanian Naval Forces History of Romania

The Romanian Military has essentially undergone a three-stage restructuring. As of 2007, the first short-term stage will be completed. 2015 marks the end of the second stage when the armed forces will reach a manpower of about 80.000, whereby about more then 75,000 will comprise the actual military, while the rest will be civilians. [2] [3]. In 2025, the long-term stage is to be completed. The stages aim at modernizing the structure of the armed forces, reducing the personnel as well as acquiring newer and more improved technology that is compatible with NATO standards [4].