On December 9 decorations ceremony for the soldiers and leadership of the 6th rotation of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battalion Battle Group Lithuania took place at the Lithuanian Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment in Rukla.
The festive formation included soldiers and civilians of all six contingents of the 6th eFP rotation - German, Dutch, Norwegian, Czech, Belgian, and Icelandic. Commander of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf Col Mindaugas Petkevičius presented the Lithuanian Armed Forces Medals for Contribution to Mutual Support and certificates of appreciation, and for the most significant merits - the Lithuanian Land Force Medals for Distinguished Service.
Col Mindaugas Petkevičius underscored in an address before bestowing the decorations that the NATO eFP Battle Group played a huge role in deterring potential aggressors, and Commander of the present, the 6th eFP rotation Lt Col Rouven Habel (Commander of the 391st Mechanised Infantry Battalion of the German Armed Forces) thanked in all languages of the countries contributing to the force under his lead for the impeccable service, dedication and impressive results.
Currently the strength of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group Lithuania is roughly 1,200. More than 8,000 soldiers from nine NATO member states - Germany, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland, Luxembourg, Croatia, France - have rotated in and out since the deployment to train together with Lithuanian colleagues.
NATO forces deployed to Rukla are rotating on a six-month basis. The 7th eFP rotation will deploy early next year to take the baton of the international mission introduced in 2017 when the first allied troops came to Lithuania. The task of the NATO eFP Battle Group is to enhance deterrence and collective defence in Lithuania and to defend Lithuania in case of a crisis or conflict together with national and deploying NATO forces.
1st Lt Aleksandr Seliuk, Senior CIMIC Officer, G9 Division, MIB Iron Wolf Command
+370 5 278 5180, +370 638 89219, aleksandr.seliuk@mil.lt
Photo credit: MIB Iron Wolf
