On February 19 Lieutenant General Tim Evans, Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), United Kingdom, met with Chief of Defence of Lithuania Major General Jonas Vytautas Žukas and Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force Almantas Leika while on a formal visit in Lithuania.
"The British Armed Forces is our valued partner. The cooperation between the militaries of our countries is growing tighter. I am certain that the establishment of the Joint NATO Expeditionary Force and the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force will offer us new perspectives for military cooperation," Major General J.V. Žukas said at the meeting.
According to the Lithuanian Chief of Defence, even though the other NATO corps based in Szczecin, Poland (i.e. the Multinational Corps Northeast - MNCNE) is playing a specific role in our region as it will coordinate the work of the NATO Force Integration Units (NFIU) to be established here, the activities of the ARRC is just as important to us. As the Chief of Defence put it, it takes more than regional approach to readiness for collective defence.
At the meeting the General discussed the security situation in the region, establishment of the NFIUs in Lithuania and other Eastern European countries, NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, and participation in the annual ARRC Exercise Arcade Fusion.
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Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) is a highly capable multinational, NATO operational headquarters, fully ready for rapid deployment worldwide within five to thirty days, with dedicated and integrated support to sustain and protect the headquarters once deployed.
Even though with 60% of the staff from the United Kingdom (as the Framework Nation), HQ ARRC is fully multinational both, in terms of nature and organisation. 15 Partner Nations of HQ ARRC, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Latvia, Turkey, the United States, and Lithuania are contributing 40% of its staff. Lithuania is contributing two officers to the ARRC since last year.
The Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps was established in Germany in 1992, and headquartered in Gloucestershire (United Kingdom) since August 2010.
Spokesperson to the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Captain Mindaugas Neimontas
Office phone no. 00370 5 278 5091, mobile phone no. 00370 682 25359, email: mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
