 Since then King Michael has severed all ties with the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, ordering that all such titles once used were no longer appropriate for use by any member of the Romanian Royal House.Some sources have contested the legality of Radu's rapid rise in the Romanian Army from a reserve lieutenant ("locotenent-major" in Romanian) to the rank of active colonel in much less time than that prescribed for ordinary advancements.The former Chief of Army Staff has argued that his activation was done at Radu's own request, while his promotion was granted for "extraordinary" merits, such as Radu's lobby for Romania's admission into NATO.