On October 21-22 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Major General Jonas Vytautas Žukas conducted a visit to Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum at invitation of the Chief of Defence of Poland. The Lithuanian Chief of Defence observed NATO Command Post Exercise (CPX) Trident Joust 2014 at the Joint Force Training Centre Bydgoszcz, Poland.
"This exercise is of relevance to us as it is conducted on the basis of a fictional scenario in accordance with Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty featuring activation of the NATO Response Force for collective defence in the Baltic region," MG J.V.Žukas said.
Exercise Trident Joust 2014 running on October 14-24 is the main training event for this year's NATO Response Force (NRF) headquarters. Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in full, i.e. 400 personnel, has been deployed from Belgium to Poland for the exercise with the infrastructure and equipment necessary for operating in a mission area. Trident Joust 2014 also involves roughly 200 troops from all the Alliance countries, including 4 Lithuanian officers. Two of them are serving with JFC Brunssum and the other two - with the Joint Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in Vilnius.
Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum is undergoing different types of training to maintain readiness at an appropriate level as it is the NRF 2014 standby headquarters and would lead NRF operations in case it is activated. JFC Brunssum will also be on standby for the NRF 2016.
While at Bydgoszcz, the Lithuanian Chief of Defence met with General Hans-Lothar Domrӧse, JFC Brunssum Commander, and Chiefs of Defence of Estonia, Latvia and Poland. The Generals discussed the role of JFC Brunssum in the implementation of the decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Wales and perspectives of further multilateral cooperation.
More on Exercise Trident Joust 2014: https://events.jftc.nato.int/event/te-trident-joust-14
Spokesperson to the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Captain Mindaugas Neimontas
Office phone no. 00370 5 278 5091, mobile phone no. 00370 682 25359, e-mail: mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
