On April 24 through 26 a meeting of the Chiefs of Defence of the Baltic States took place in Kõue, Estonia. The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius, Chief of Defence of Latvia Lieutenant General Raimonds Graube and Chief of Defence of Estonia Major General Riho Terras.
The meeting Baltic Chiefs of Defence discussed the capabilities their countries could commit for standby in the NATO Response Force (NRF) in 2016. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have plans to form a joint battalion-sized unit for the purpose. A joint battalion of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia conducted standby in the NRF in 2010, then the joint battalion's staff and the major part of maneuver and logistic provision units were formed by personnel of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
The Chiefs of Defence also addressed capably development, points related to the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL), military training, relevant issues of the trilateral projects of the Baltic States - the Baltic Naval Squadron BALTRON and the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System BALTNET, joint military training events of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia held in the territories of the three Baltic States, and NATO's Air Policing mission in the Baltics.
By tradition, the Chiefs of Defence of the Baltic States meet biannually.
Spokesperson to the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Capt Skomantas Povilionis, cell phone no. 00370 682 25 359.
Photo: courtesy of the Estonian Armed Forces
