Romanian Army

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Romanian Army

Military manpower^[1]
Military age	All military inductees (including women) are volunteers who contract for an initial five-year term of service; subsequent voluntary service contracts are for successive three-year terms until the age of 36; minimum age for voluntary military service is 18 (2006)
Availability	males age 15–49: 5,061,984 females age 20–49: 4,975,427 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	males age 15–49: 3,932,579 females age 20–49: 4,076,288 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	males: 172,093 females: 165,547 (2005 est.)
Active personnel	93,619 (ranked 45th)
Military expenditures
Amount	€ 2.21 billion (2007)^[2]
Percent of GDP	2.05% (2007)

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.

1 Manpower
2 Modernization
3 Other militarized institutions
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Manpower

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. 60,000 of the 90,000 will be the active forces, while 30,000 comprise the territorial forces ^[3]. Out of the 75,000 troops which comprise the actual military, ca. 45,800 make up the Romanian Land Forces, 13,250 are the Romanian Air Force and 6,800 are in the Romanian Naval Forces, while the remaining 8,800 serve in other fields ^[4].

According to the Romanian Ministry of Defence, the Romanian Military had at the end of 2006 about 93,600 men and women^[5].

Romanian troops in Afghanistan

[edit] Modernization

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 more than about 75,000 will comprise the actual military, while the rest will be civilians. ^[6] ^[7].

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^[8].

A sign in front of the Cercul Militar Naţional (May 2006) counts down to the "complete professionalization" of the Romanian Army.

[edit] Other militarized institutions

The following Romanian institutions have military status but are not part of the Army:

Romanian Gendarmerie (Jandarmeria Română), subordinated to the Ministry of Administration and Interior of Romania
Inspectoratul General al Corpului Pompierilor Militari (Military Firefighters) and Comandamentul Protecţiei Civile (Civil Defense), merged into the Romanian Inspectorate for Emergency Situations within the Ministry of the Interior
Serviciul Român de Informaţii (Romanian Intelligence Service)
Serviciul de Protecţie şi Pază (provides protection to Romanian and foreign officials)
Serviciul de Telecomunicaţii Speciale (Special Telecommunications Service)
Serviciul de Informaţii Externe (Foreign Intelligence Service)