He was born in Plenița, a commune in Dolj County. He graduated from the Military Lyceum "Tudor Vladimirescu" in Craiova in 1985 and from the Nicolae Bălcescu Land Forces Academy in Sibiu in 1988. During his military career, he participated in missions in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq. From 2001 to 2004 he was commander of the 26th Infantry Battalion (also known as the Red Scorpions), with which he participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Ancient Babylon in Iraq. In May 2004, at Nasiriyah, Iraq, he led the first battle in which Romanian soldiers actively participated since World War II. He was promoted to the rank of General on 25 October 2010.