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Vice-Admiral Alexandru Mirsu handed over, on Tuesday, with the transfer to the reserve, the leadership of the Romanian Naval Forces to Rear Admiral Mihai Panait, during a military ceremony organized in the Constanta Military Port, informs the General Staff of the Naval Forces (SMFN).
According to the quoted source, during the festivity, organized in the presence of the Minister of National Defence, Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca, and of the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, the presidential decree for transferring Vice Admiral Mirsu to the reserve was read. He was awarded the National Order of Faithful Service, in the Degree of Knight, with the sign of peace, for the military staff, by the President of Romania, for the entire activity in the service of the country, during the 40 years of activity.
Next, the order of the Minister of National Defence was presented, by which Rear Admiral Mihai Panait, the commander of the Fleet, was empowered Chief of the SMF, and then he took over the battle flag of the institution from his predecessor.
The handover-reception ceremony of the leadership of the Romanian Naval Forces took place in the presence of a small audience, in accordance with the measures to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, the festivity being attended by the chief of staff of the Land Forces and Air Force, heads of central structures the Ministry of National Defence, former Chiefs of Staff of the Naval Forces and commanders of large units of the Romanian Navy.
Rear Admiral Mihai Panait was born in 1968, he graduated from the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" Military Naval High School in Constanta (1986) and the "Mircea cel Batran" Naval Academy, Faculty of Navigation (1991).
During his career, he held positions aboard military ships, being commander of the Frigate King Ferdinand, during 2009-2013, when he represented the Romanian Naval Forces in various missions in theaters of maritime operations, such as NATO Active Endeavor Operation - 2010, for monitoring maritime traffic in the Mediterranean; Operation NATO Unified Protector, 2011, to impose an embargo on Libya, the first real combat mission carried out by Naval Forces after World War II and EU Operation Atalanta, 2012, to combat naval piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, the first mission of a Romanian military ship carried out in the Southern Hemisphere.
Since 2013, he has been appointed to important leadership positions in the Fleet Command, whose commander he has been since 2019, as well as in the General Staff of the Naval Forces.
Rear Admiral Mihai Panait perfected his professional training by graduating from some forms of university, postgraduate and master's education in Romania, Italy and the USA, his professional merits being recognized by being conferred numerous distinctions, orders, medals, as well as the title of Honorary Citizen of the State of Rhode Island, USA (2008). By presidential decrees, he was promoted to the rank of Flotilla Rear Admiral (2017) and, subsequently, to that of Rear Admiral (2019).
