On March 7-8 tactical equipment of the 91st Infantry Battalion of the enhanced Vigilance Activity Brigade will be moving by roads from the border with Poland to General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area. The eVA Brigade is deploying its 91st Infantry Battalion with over 200 pieces of military equipment and 700 troops to Lithuania via the Budzisko-Kalvarija border crossing point to train in Exercise Grand Eagle-24.
Commander of the eVA 21st Brigade Brig Gen Marco Eggert underscored referring to the exercise objectives that the Battalion assigned to Lithuania was training to quickly redeploy significant force, act in synch with the Allies in Lithuania’s territory and was assessing the terrain.
The German troops and equipment deploy from Poland after taking part in the first phase of Exercise Grand Eagle-24 where they trained and certified military mobility requirements and challengers in border-crossing before proceeding to phase two in Lithuania. The exercise is an integral part of NATO Exercise Steadfast Defender-24 attended by 90 thousand troops from the entire NATO, including the new 32nd member state Sweden. Exercise Steadfast Defender-24 will reach peak intensity in Lithuania in May.
The eVA Brigade assigned to Lithuania has been on standby since 2022, since December 2023 the mission is conducted by the 21st Brigade of the Bundeswehr under command of Brig Gen M. Eggert. The approx. 4000-strong Brigade is one of the Rapid Reactions units of the German Armed Forces.
Photo courtesy of the Bundeswehr