Video report (OR-5 Lukas Tamošiūnas)
On May 29 roughly 200 soldiers of the Norwegian contingent assigned from the Telemark Battalion and Brigade Nord of the Norwegian Armed Forces flew in via Kaunas Airport to serve in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania based in Rukla.
"We are happy to be here and ready to carry out the assignments shoulder to shoulder with our allies in Lithuania," commander of the Norwegian company Captain Brage Reinaas said.
"As of this moment, the battle group is fully manned. We welcome the Norwegians," commander of the public affairs division of the NATO eFP Battalion Battle Group Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Richter underlined.
The Norwegian force's equipment was brought via Klaipėda Seaport last week. It includes roughly 60 vehicles - various modifications of Leopard tanks, CV 90 IFVs, M113 armoured vehicles of different modifications, other cargo and light vehicles.
Currently, the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania includes over 450 German soldiers, 100 Belgian and 250 Dutch troops.
In 2017-2018 the NATO eFP unit in Lithuania will be manned by Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia and France. The Battle Group in Lithuania is mainly composed of German troops and is led by a German officer.
NATO enhances its forward presence in the eastern flank by deploying four battle groups in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland on a rotational basis. The battle groups led by the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the United States are multinational, combat-ready forces that showcase the strength of the Trans-Atlantic bond. Their deployment signals that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all. The deployment is also the largest ever enhancement of NATO's collective defence, including the NATO presence in the Black Sea region.
NATO enhanced Forward Presence
Photo credits: Major Miguel Simoes (NFIU Lithuania)
