On May 2012 Special Operations Forces of the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LITHSOF) attended a three-week Exercise "Flaming Sword 12". Lithuanian military trained together with the troops of the Special Operations Unit from Latvia and the U.S. Navy SEALs.
Three squadrons were formed for the Exercise purposes with a single uniting idea - to prepare for an adequate completion of peacetime tasks and territorial defence. Simultaneously, Squadron "Aitvaras" trained for a Multinational Operation and the Naval Squadron integrated the Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) held in Lithuania on an annual basis.
Joint Special Operations Forces Component Headquarters appointed corresponding tasks to the Exercise squadrons. LITH SOF Squadron formed by the LITHSOF Special Purpose Service and the Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion fulfilled peacetime tasks and prepared for territorial defence in case of a threat. Squadron including troops from LITHSOF and the Latvian Special Operations Unit trained for operations in the south of Afghanistan while maritime operations where conducted by a squadron deployed in Klaipėda formed by the LITHSOF Combat Divers Service and the U.S. SEALs.
Special Operations Squadrons conducted operations with the Lithuanian Air Force's and Land Force's support delivered by the King Mindaugas Motorised Infantry Battalion and the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion.
During the Exercise LITHSOF Squadron trained conducting peacetime tasks in case of a real-life threat to the sovereignty of Lithuania via r hostage rescue tasks from a train and an aircraft. Collaboration with JSC "Lietuvos geležinkeliai" (Lithuanian Railways) and "FL Technics" provided all the conditions needed for LITHSOF personnel to fulfill simulated tasks in realistic environment, test their preparedness to conduct hostage rescue, and make use of the gearing and equipment for breaking into objects where civilians could be kept.
During the Exercise LITHSOF Squadron in collaboration with the Latvian Special Operations Unit trained for the demanding NATO International Security Assistance Force's operation in the south of Afghanistan. In the real- life mission LITHSOF and Latvian troops will jointly attend meetings with local authorities with the key focus on military assistance rendered to local security forces. The joint Lithuanian-Latvian Special Operations Squadron "Aitvaras" was approved for deployment to Afghanistan by a bilateral agreement signed by Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Arvydas Pocius and Chief of Defence of Latvia Raimonds Graube in 2011. It is the first time in the history of Lithuania that the Squadron "Aitvaras" is manned jointly with military personnel of another state. This will be the 16th deployment of "Aitvaras" to Afghanistan.
LITHSOF Squadron formed by LITHSOF and U.S. troops completed maritime operations during the Exercise. One of the phases of the Exercise "Flaming Sword 12" was the annual Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) which focused on enhancing joint combat actions, counter-insurgency operations, EOD tasks, and complex water-land special operations. The latter involved Lithuanian and other countries' special operations forces troops conducting training tasks following a ship hijack scenario in the water area of Klaipėda Seaport. Close and efficient collaboration with JSC "DFDS LISCO" allowed LITHSOF personnel to conduct training maritime intervention tasks in a ferry with passengers sailing on the open sea on its routine route. The U.S. special operations military personnel arrived in Lithuania with their own equipment necessary during the exercise.
The Exercise "Flaming Sword 12" enhanced LITHSOP capacity to collaborate with other branches of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, complete peacetime tasks, and conduct defence tasks jointly with the allies in Lithuania or beyond its borders.
LITHSOF squadrons responded expeditiously to various scenarios of threat throughout Lithuania - from rescuing hostages to destruction of armed enemy files. This Exercise proved to be one more case of consolidation of practical regional LITHSOF cooperation, which is also an active contribution to the implementation of the Smart Defence concept.
Information and photos by LITHSAF
