The Multinational Brigade South-East (MN BDE SE) is an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

of the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...

. Until April 2017 the brigade was named 2nd Infantry Brigade " Rovine", but has since become one of Romania's contributions to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. The "Rovine" was deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

for

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

missions.

History

The brigade was formed on 1 April 1883. It participated in both World Wars. In 1916, the Brigade was composed of the 1st and the 31st Infantry Regiment, and was part of the 1st Infantry Division. It took part in the Romanian Campaign of World War I, and in the

Hungarian–Romanian War The Hungarian–Romanian War (; ) was fought between Hungary and Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 13 November 1918 to 3 August 1919. The conflict had a complex background, with often contradictory motivations for the parties involved. After the ...

of 1919. In 1970, the 2nd Infantry Brigade Craiova was formed. It was named after the

Battle of Rovine The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395. The Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea the Elder opposed the Ottoman invasion personally led by Sultan Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. The Turkish force heavily outnumbered the Wallachian troops. ...

, which took place in 1395. Starting from 1995, the brigade began participating in international exercises. Troops from the brigade were also deployed in international missions in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, and

. During the deployment to Angola, the 26th Infantry Battalion took the nickname "Red Scorpions". During the multinational deployments, the name of the unit was registered as such by an American commander, thus becoming the first Romanian unit with an official nickname. Following the 26th Battalion example, the other battalions of the brigade also received a "scorpion" nickname.

Multinational Brigade

During the

2016 Warsaw summit The 2016 Warsaw Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was the 26th formal summit of the heads of state and heads of government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, held at the National Stadium, Warsaw, National Stadium i ...

NATO secretary general The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating th ...

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...

announced that a Romanian Army brigade was going to be transformed into a NATO Multinational Brigade. Following a meeting of the Romanian Supreme Council of National Defence in September 2016, the

President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...

announced that the 2nd Infantry Brigade was to take the role of the multinational brigade. The Multinational Brigade was declared fully operational by the Deputy Commander of the Allied Land Command in 2018 following the evaluation exercise Scorpions Fury 2018. The brigade is currently subordinated to the Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. On 10 August 2023, structures of the Multinational Brigade participated at the establishment ceremony of the newly created 24th Infantry Battalion. The new battalion, named after

Ecaterina Teodoroiu Ecaterina Teodoroiu (; formal rendition of Cătălina Toderoiu; 14 January 1894 – 3 September 1917) was a Romanians, Romanian woman who fought on the front and died in World War I, and is regarded as a heroine of Romania. A Cercetaşii Românie ...

, is to be subordinated to the brigade and has its headquarters in

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu (, is the capital city, capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu (river), Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the ...

Organization

Organization in 2025

* Multinational Brigade South-East (HQ MN BDE-SE), in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

** 20th Infantry Battalion "

Dolj Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to '' Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, the coun ...

" ("Black Scorpions"), in Craiova, with

Piranha V The Piranha V infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) is the fifth generation variant of the Mowag Piranha family of vehicles. It was designed by General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH. The first prototype was completed in 2008. It was firs ...

wheeled

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

s ** 22nd Infantry Battalion " Romanați" ("Green Scorpions"), in

Caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized Felidae, wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long ...

, with Piranha III

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s *** Portuguese Contingent (''Força Nacional Destacada'' - FND), in Caracal ** 24th Infantry Battalion "

" ("Gray Scorpions"), in

** 26th Infantry Battalion "

Neagoe Basarab Neagoe Basarab (; – 15 September 1521) was the Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia between 1512 and 1521. Born into the boyar family of the Craiovești (his reign marks the climax of the family's political influence) as the son of Pârvu Craioves ...

" ("Red Scorpions"), in Craiova, with Piranha V wheeled infantry fighting vehicles *** Polish Motorized Company, in Craiova ** 116th Logistic Battalion "

Iancu Jianu Iancu Jianu (; 1787 – 14 December 1842), also Ioniță Jianu, was a Wallachian Romanian hajduk. Biography Born in Caracal, Oltenia, Wallachia, in 1787, to the Jianu boyar family, as the youngest of four brothers. His father, Costache Jianu, w ...

" ("Golden Scorpions"), in Craiova ** 205th Air Defense Battalion "General Gheorghe Pârvulescu" ("Blue Scorpions"), in Craiova, with Oerlikon GDF-003 anti-aircraft guns ** 225th Support Battalion, in

** 325th Artillery Battalion " Alutus" ("Fire Scorpions"), in Caracal **

Army of North Macedonia The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia (, ARSM) is the military of North Macedonia. The army is organized, prepared and trained to conduct armed struggle and combat and other actions to achieve its constitutional function of defending the ...

Contingent, in Caracal

References

External links

*
Official Site of the Romanian Land Forces

Headquarters Multinational Brigade South East official Facebook page
{{North Atlantic Treaty Organization Brigades of Romania Military units and formations established in 1970 Military units and formations of NATO