December 8, homecoming and decoration ceremony of PRT-11 after the ISAF mission and troops after deployment to ISAF staffs will be held in Tauragė. The event will be attended by the Minister of National Defence Rasa Juknevičienė, Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Gen Arvydas Pocius, other high representatives of the Armed Forces and administration of Tauragė City, and relatives of troops.
The 11th shift of Lithuanian peacekeepers (around 150 members) the majority of whom serve with the Grand Duke Kęstutis Motorised Infantry Battalion stationed in Tauragė, were deployed to Afghanistan in May. In November they were replaced by the 12th shift based on the Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion's military personnel.
The Lithuanian-led PRT in Ghor is a joint civilian-military mission, a part of NATO's ISAF, that was launched in Ghor in summer of 2005. The main task of the mission is to help Government of Afghanistan to extend authority in the province, ensure security and create environment for provincial reconstruction. Prerequisites for the allied forces deployed in Afghanistan to finish the mission will be provided as soon as the country's National Security Forces are able to ensure security of the country and its people independently. In the present period major attention is paid to the projects of training and preparation of Afghan National Security Forces.
Representatives of Denmark, Georgia, Japan, USA, Poland, Finland and Ukraine serve together with Lithuanian military and civilian personnel in Ghor PRT camp in Chaghcharan.
Note for media: the ceremony starts at 13.30hrs.
Picture (A. Pliadis, MoND) - deployment ceremony, PRT-11, April 2010.
