From July 1 a company of King Mindaugas Motorised Infantry Battalion along with British, Latvian, Swedish and Dutch military personnel will conduct a half-year standby in the European Union Battlegroup (EU BG 13/2) while Lithuanian officers will be posted to operational and joint headquarters of the BG.
In Late January 7 Lithuanian officers from the Joint Headquarters, and also the headquarters of the Lithuanian Land Force, the National Defence Volunteer Force and the Logistics Command underwent a course on staff operation in Northwood (UK) which covered standby tasks, the EU crisis response operational planning process, financing and supply of operations, terminology and particularities of planning used in military campaigns, as well as lessons learned by former rotations of the BGs.
"The training not only gave as an opportunity to meet our colleagues from other nations but also familiarised us with the EU crisis management procedures, particularities of work at an operational-level staff and military decision making process", said Chief of Staff of the Lithuanian Land Force Colonel Vaidotas Malinionis. During the standby he will perform the duties of the Deputy Chief of the BG Joint Headquarters.
On January 31 Lithuanian officers also attended the main planning conference of the EUBG13/2 certification field exercise which will prove readiness of the BG in full composition, including Lithuania's military personnel, for the BG13/2 tasks. There the officers discussed the details of the exercise to take place in the United Kingdom in May, the tasks separate countries will have to carry out and their limits of responsibility.
Lithuanian delegates attended the events along with officers from Italy, the United Kingdom, Latvia, the Netherlands, France, Finland and Sweden.
Lithuanian military began training for standby in the EUBG 13/2 last October. Separate officers train for their duties in various positions across the EUBG 13/2 staffs while a company of King Mindaugas Motorised Infantry Battalion prepares for the duty of a maneuver unit. Platoons of the company will be attending platoon certification field tactical exercise in the Pabradė Training Area from February 4 to 8. That will be followed by higher level - company level - combat training and a national company certification exercise. The training period will be finalised by a certification field exercise in the United Kingdom in May which Lithuanian troops will attend together with the EUBG in full composition, along with the British, Latvian, Swedish and Dutch military.
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The European Union Battlegroups are rapid response force of the European Union tailored to provide the EU a capacity to respond to emerging crises immediately. The BGs are highly ready rapidly deployable multinational joint forces capable of stand-alone operations, or for the initial phase of larger operations. The EU BGs are ready to deploy to an operation theatre within 5 to 10 days after making a corresponding political decision, and are self-sustainable in the theatre of an operation from 30 to 120 days. One BG includes approximately 2 thousand military personnel. The EU BGs are capable of completing military operations anywhere within the radius of 6 thousand kilometres around Brussels.
The first EU Battlegroup was deployed in the first semester of 2005. Since early 2007 two BGs have been deployed each semester for which reason the European Union is capable of conducting two different rapid response operations nearly simultaneously. The EU BG rotation schedule is drawn for several years in advance. Training is carried out with great responsibility for each standby period and joint exercises are held. Lithuanian troops were once assigned for standby in the EU BG, in 2010. Then Lithuania's formation included a company with a supply element from King Mindaugas Battalion, a CIMIC company, a Military Police section, officers assigned for duty in a multinational staff and a national support element - approximately, 150 troops in total. Then Lithuanian rotation conducted standby along with Polish, Latvian, Slovak and German military.
In the first semester of 2015 Lithuania will be on standby in the Nordic Battlegroup under the lead of Sweden.
PAO for the Lithuanian Land Force Captain Mindaugas Neimontas, cell phone no. 00370 640 45380.
Photos from the archive of Mindaugas Battalion (troops on preparation in the EUBG in the first half of 2010).
Photo of the headquarters of the Joint Forces Command (JFC) of the United Kingdom (by the British Army)
