New Bulgarian NATO partners visit Pax
NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs Department
PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD—Representatives from the Bulgarian Armed Forces, led by Vice Adm. Petar Panchev Petrov, visited NAS Patuxent River April 14, getting a close-up look at the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and S-3B Viking weapon systems.
Petrov visited at the request of the Pentagon's vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace. Petrov is Paces' counterpart in the Bulgarian Armed Forces.
Bulgaria, together with six more former Soviet-bloc nations March 29, became full-fledged NATO members in the most ambitious expansion in the alliance's history. The accession of the seven new countries - Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - brings the 55-year-old alliance membership to 26.
Accompanying Petrov on the visit were Maj. Gen. Orlin Marintchev, Bulgarian Embassy army defense attaché in Washington, and Lt. Col. Svetlin Aleksiev Antonov, Bulgarian Air Force senior assistant to the Office of the general Staff.
Rear Adm. Bert Johnston, NAVAIR vice commander, greeted the Bulgarians on their arrival and led the visitors to briefings concerning the Super Hornet and Viking. The delegation also briefly toured static displays of the two aircraft before departing the station.
"It was a great pleasure to host Vice Adm. Petrov, his wife, and the rest of the official party," Johnston said. "They were very interested in our Naval aviation capabilities - especially now that Bulgaria is a new member of NATO. We look forward to working with them in the future."
—USN—
Photo by Jim Jenkins
Rear Adm. Bert Johnston, right, NAVAIR vice commander, escorts Vice Adm. Petar Panchev Petrov, first deputy chief of staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, during a visit to NAS Patuxent River April 14 as official interpreter Rositsa Ivanova Petkova is close by.
