The Jotvingis (N42), command and supply ship of the Lithuanian Navy, was involved in military training events in Lithuania's territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone during the past two months. It is planned to enter standby for the NATO Response Forces (NRF) in the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1).
The SNMCMG1 will be under the command of Commander Giedrius Premeneckas, officer of the Lithuanian Navy, over the period.
The Jotvingis has been preparing for the half-year standby for the SNMCMG1 in exercises with the Sūduvis (M52), Lithuanian mine countermeasures vessel, Mi-8 helicopter of the Lithuanian Air Force and military personnel of the Air Defence Battalion who are assigned to the same standby period.
The SNMCMG1 joint international staff will be deployed in the Jotvingis under the command of Cdr Giedrius Premeneckas as of mid-May. It will include 7 Lithuanian representatives as the core staff, and three representatives of Estonia, Latvia and Turkey.
This SNMCMG1 rotation is planned to include mine countermeasures vessels from Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany.
The SNMCMG1will take part in spectrum of exercises in Finland, the United Kingdom, will carry out an explosive ordnance disposal operation off the coast of France, and attend tactical training events of the SNMCMG1 vessels, while under Lithuania's command.
The Standing NATO Maritime Groups are a multinational, integrated maritime force made up of vessels from various allied countries. These vessels (including their helicopters) are permanently available to NATO to perform different tasks ranging from participating in exercises to actually intervening in operational missions. These groups provide NATO with a continuous maritime capability for operations and other activities in peacetime and in periods of crisis and conflict. They also help to establish Alliance presence, demonstrate solidarity, conduct routine diplomatic visits to different countries, support transformation and provide a variety of maritime military capabilities to ongoing missions.
The main task of the SNMCMG1 is to carry out maritime mine clearance operations and attend multinational maritime training events of NATO countries.
The SNMCMG1 is composed on a half-year rotational basis by mine countermeasures and supply ships of NATO maritime allies.
Lithuania's conducted its first standby for the SNMCMG1 in 2007 with the Sūduvis (M52), mine countermeasures vessel of the Lithuanian Navy.
POC: CIMIC Officer of the Lithuanian Navy HQ Sgt Audrius Vitkauskas, office phone no. 00370 46 391 207, cell phone no 00370 698 181 96.
Photo credits: Lithuanian Navy
