On November 3 Exercise Iron Sword 2014 was declared open at two official opening ceremonies at the General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Range in Pabradė and at the drill grounds of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanized Infantry Battalion at Rukla. The total of 2.5 thousand exercise participants from 9 NATO countries, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the U.S., the UK, Canada, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary and Germany, lined up in both venues.
The official opening ceremony of Iron Sword 2014 at the General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Range in Pabradė was attended by Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas, Ambassador of Hungary Zoltan Pecze, Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force Major General Almantas Leika, and other guests.
"This exercise has become a true symbol of allies' flexibility, solidarity and unity. Iron Sword 2014 demonstrates the resolve and commitment of all those allies contributing to the principles of NATO and collective defence," Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas said at the ceremony.
The parade at the opening of Iron Sword 2014 was formed by the exercise participants from Lithuania, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hungary and Germany.
The parade on the drill grounds of the Algirdas Mechanized Infantry Battalion in Rukla was congratulated and Iron Sword 2014 announced open by Vice Minister of National Defence Marijus Velička and Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force Major General A. Leika
"It is my honour to welcome Germany, Hungary and Luxembourg, the countries participating in a military exercise in Lithuania for the very first time. Let's build a strong background for our future cooperation," Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force Major General A.Leika said at the opening ceremony.
The parade at the drill grounds of the Algirdas Mechanized Infantry Battalion the parade was formed by Lithuanian, Czech, Estonian, Canadian and Luxembourg's military personnel.
The Hungarian contingent which will stay for further training till the end of the year in Lithuania after the formal closing of Iron Sword 2014 was also officially welcomed in Lithuania at Pabradė.
Around 140 soldiers of the Hungarian Land Force will form a battalion-sized NATO unit together with assigned Lithuanian and U.S. companies to attend combined training events and exercises. The Hungarian contingent has arrived from the 5th Bocskai István Infantry Brigade of the Hungarian Defence Force.
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Iron Sword 2014 will involve roughly 2 thousand participants from the Lithuanian Land Force, the Lithuanian Air Force, the Logistics Command, the Military Police, and the Training and Doctrine Command. The Lithuanian personnel will train alongside roughly 500 allied troops - an air defence platoon from the Czech Republic, an infantry platoon from Estonia, a company of the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division and another from the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the U.S. Army, both deployed in Lithuania, a reconnaissance company and an engineer platoon from Germany, an infantry company from the United Kingdom, an infantry company from Hungary, an infantry platoon from Canada and a reconnaissance platoon from Luxembourg.
Over 300 combat vehicles of various roles will be used during the multinational Exercise Iron Sword 2014, including the BRADLEY tracked infantry fighting vehicles, the BPZ heavy tracked armoured recovery vehicles, the M113 armoured tracked personnel carriers, the STRYKER, the FUCHS, the BTR-80 and theBTR-80 AM wheeled armoured personnel carriers, the HMMWV ,the DINGO, the FENNEK and the EAGLE IV light armoured military all-terrain vehicles, the SISU multipurpose trucks, various other military trucks and four-wheelers.
Exercise Iron Sword 2014 is arranged by the command of the Lithuanian Land Force, the service responsible for arranging the Host Nation Support for the exercise participants from NATO countries. Iron Sword is planned to become an annual exercise.
More information on the exercise at: http://kariuomene.kam.lt/en/international_military_exercises/iron_sword_2014.html
Photo credits: Ieva Budzeikaitė (2,4) and Master Sergeant Lina Ambroževičiūtė (1,3-7)
