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Lt. General Mark P. Hertling, Commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, visited Moldova for meetings with military leaders to further the military-to-military partnership between the U.S. and Moldova.  In a ceremony held at the Moldovan Defense Ministry on Wednesday afternoon, Lt. General Hertling also presented Defense Minister Vitalie Marinuta with the Meritorious Service Medal.  The Medal was given for Minister Marinuta's service as a strategic planner with U.S. Central Command, in support of Moldovan troops that participated in humanitarian and reconstruction missions in Iraq from 2003-2008.  Lt. Gen. Hertling also presented Minister Marinuta with a Certificate of Honor noting his induction into the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) Hall of Fame. Minister Marinuta, who graduated from the Kansas-based college in 2000, is the first Moldovan citizen to be inducted into the CGSC hall of fame.

After the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Hertling said, "I applaud the increasing contributions of the Moldovan Army from their participation in multinational exercises at our training base in Germany, to their significant growth in peacekeeping, special forces, and EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] capabilities.  The Moldovans are proving they can operate above their weight class. "