On September 11 a homecoming ceremony was held at the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion for the Lithuanian military contingent coming back from NATO operation Active Fence in Turkey. Five soldiers of the Deployable Communication and Information Systems Module (DCISM) of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion carried out service in the Republic of Turkey for over four months incorporated into the 3rd NATO Signal Battalion.
The homecoming ceremony was conducted in the presence of Chief of the Joint Staff Brigadier General Vilmantas Tamošaitis, Commander of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion Lieutenant Colonel Darius Adomaitis, and members of the Battalion.
"It was an entirely new mission for which we had to foresee all the challenges likely to be faced, all the issues likely to occur, and to get ready to solve them efficiently. We can be proud that our troops have completed their tasks professionally and have led the multinational personnel appropriately, and thus this mission has proved once again that we are reliable Armed Forces," BG V.Tamošaitis. "There is a motto saying, communications is not all that makes armed forces, but armed forces are incapable without communications," the Chief of the Joint Staff added a witty touch to the importance of the mission.
The deployed home DCISM troops were awarded with the National Defence System Medals and badges for Deployment on International Missions, and commendation certificates of the Chief of the Joint Staff.
NATO launched Operation Active Fence in response to a request for support in protecting the country received from the Government of Turkey in 2012 when the threat of missile attacks from Syria increased. NATO deployed Patriot air defence missile systems of U.S., Dutch and German militaries in the south of Turkey near the border with Syria. The responsibility of DCISM in Operation Active Fence is ensuring Patriot batteries are connected with NATO command posts.
The contingent that has rotated back to Lithuania is replaced in southern Turkey by a new Lithuanian shift, and the following DCISM contingent will take over its duties this winter.
DCISM is the only company-sized unit of the Lithuanian Armed Forces incorporated into NATO forces on a permanent basis.
The key task of DCISM, part of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion, is to render mobile C2 support for temporary or deployable NATO command posts.
Information prepared by the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion
Photo credits: PFC Rimvydas Sasnauskas
