Bulgarian – American Joint Military Facilities Bulgarian – American Joint Military Facilities were established by a Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the United States and Bulgaria in April 2006 . Under the agreement , U . S . forces will train at these bases , which remain under Bulgarian command and under the Bulgarian flag . History . On April 28 , 2006 , in Sofia , Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin and U . S . Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement ( DCA ) , which includes the range , order , and conditions of the shared use of several military facilities on Bulgarian territory . On May 26 , 2006 , the Bulgarian Parliament ratified the Defense Cooperation Agreement and the Bulgarian State Gazette published the Ratification Law on June 6 , 2006 . The Defense Cooperation Agreement entered into force on June 12 , 2006 . Additional agreements , concerning the specifics of the Defense Cooperation Agreement implementation , are expected to be finalized in 2007 . The U . S . has also signed a similar agreement with Romania and the U . S . military units deployed to both Bulgaria and Romania will be known as Joint Task Force East . Joint US - Bulgarian military bases established according to the 2006 Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Bulgaria : Under the agreement , no more than 2 , 500 U . S . military personnel will be located at the joint military facilities . Most training rotations will have small numbers and will be of short duration . During such a rotation , there might be brief periods when there are two groups of 2500 soldiers at one time in Bulgaria . The soldiers will not have family members with them . Possible types of units are armor , mechanized infantry , airborne infantry or light infantry . The type of equipment they will use will depend on the unit and the training requirements . The treaty also allows the US to use the bases " for missions in third country without a specific authorization from Bulgarian authorities " . The U . S . Embassy has said that Bulgaria and the United States will consult about all aspects of the use of the facilities and training areas . The Bezmer Air Base is expected to become one of the major US strategic airfields overseas , housing American combat aircraft . The DCA accords immunity to US militaries protecting them from any juridical pursuits against them in this country . However , in cases of particular importance to Bulgarian authorities that waiver of primary Bulgarian criminal jurisdiction may be recalled ( Paragraph 1 , Article X of the Defense Cooperation Agreement ) . The U . S . Embassy has said that the agreement builds on the NATO Status of Forces Agreement ( SOFA ) . Bulgaria retains the right to exercise its jurisdiction when it is in Bulgaria ' s interest . In other cases , the United States will exercise jurisdiction over U . S . military and civilian personnel . Bulgarian Government position on the Defense Cooperation Agreement . On Friday , November 4 , 2005 , in a speech delivered at Sofia ' s National Palace of Culture ( NDK ) , Bulgaria ' s Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev stated , " I would like to also note that the strategic partnership with the U . S . is defined for Bulgaria by our NATO commitments as well as the agenda of the transatlantic dialogue . … The issue of the shared military facilities in Bulgaria comes also within the context of our bilateral strategic partnership . We believe the proposals for transformation of the military forces and U . S . command in Europe , including the establishment of a rotating brigade stationed in Bulgaria and Romania , address adequately the new risks and security threats as well as Bulgaria ' s interests and the need for stronger cooperation . " On May 21 , 2006 , Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov called the Defense Cooperation Agreement with the U . S . " a strategic investment in the security of our country … " . Another agreement with Romania permits the U . S . to use the Mihail Kogălniceanu base and another one nearby .