On December 2-4 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas went for a formal visit to the United Kingdom where he met with the Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, the UK Ministry of Defence's Director General Security Policy, Peter Watkins, and other representatives of the UK Ministry of Defence and the Defence Staff.
"General Houghton and I have discussed the UK's plans to increase the size of forces deployed to Lithuania for joint training and exercises in the Baltic States. I appreciate such allies' approach to the enhancement of security of our region, therefore I will make every efforts to ensure that the joint Lithuanian-British combat training in Lithuania is arranged as efficiently as possible. That, I believe, includes not only good training conditions but also setting specific objectives for combat training and ensuring that the training is continued," Lt Gen J.V.Žukas said.
The Lithuanian Chief of Defence thanked General Sir Nicholas Houghton for the support the British Armed Forces had rendered to the Lithuanian armed Forces prior to Lithuania's NATO accession, the weighty contribution to the security of the Baltic region, the close cooperation in multinational operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and in various international exercises, and during the standby in the EU Battle Group in the second semester of 2013.
During the visit Lithuania's Chief of Defence was thoroughly familiarised with UK's military strategy, prospects of development of the British Armed Forces, and the military operations British soldiers were taking part in. Security situation in the southern and eastern flank of the Alliance, implementation of the NATO Readiness Action Plan in the Baltic region, cooperation initiatives and assistance to Ukraine were also discussed. Lt Gen J.V.Žukas also elaborated on the issues of Lithuania troops' preparation for standbys for the UK-led European Union Battle Group (EU BG) in 2016 and the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2017.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces plans assigning a company and a staff officer to the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) formed by 7 nations to tackle unpredictable present-day challenges, therefore Lt Gen J.V.Žukas took interest in the aspects of formation and operation of the JEF.
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The British Armed Forces have been developing close cooperation with the Lithuanian Armed Forces NATO, EU, bilateral and multilateral formats for more than two decades. The United Kingdom has made significant contributions to the development of the Lithuanian military training system and to the training of civilian and military personnel. British military instructors played a significant role in the creation of the Lithuanian Great Hetman J.Radvila Training Regiment and the reform of the General J.Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Armed Forces (formerly, the NCO) School, provided methodological support in the formation of the English language teaching and testing system for the personnel of the Lithuanian National Defence System.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces procured 45 special-purpose Land Rover Defender all-terrain vehicles from the Ricardo UK company of the United Kingdom In 2005, and 2 Hunt-class mine hunters from the UK Ministry of Defence in 2013.
Lithuanian soldiers and civilian personnel of the National Defence System studied and improved their qualification in different defence training institutions of the United Kingdom. Our troops were many times deployed to multinational operations in Afghanistan and Iraq side by side with British troops, while military personnel of the United Kingdom took part in many international exercises in Lithuania.
Since August 2014 two Lithuanian soldiers have been assigned to the Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) based in the United Kingdom. The HQ ARRC deployed to the Baltic States for the first time on November 9-20, 2015, for Exercise Arrcade Fusion 2015.
The United Kingdom contributes personnel to the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence and the NATO Force Integration Unit in Vilnius. In 2004 and 2014 the Royal Air Force Detachments were deployed to Šiauliai to conduct the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic States.
Approximately 120 Lithuanian soldiers were on standby for the UK-led European Union Battle Group in the second semester of 2013. Roughly a hundred and a half of Lithuanian soldiers will again be assigned to a UK-led EU Battle Group to repeat the success of the first shift in the second semester of 2016.
Lithuanian soldiers will be assigned to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a UK-led high-readiness force launched to tackle unpredictable present-day challenges, as off next year: Lithuania looks to contributing a company-sized unit to the force and an officer to the JEF operational headquarters. A company of the Lithuanian Armed Forces is planned to be assigned to the UK-led Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2017.
POC: Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Captain Mindaugas Neimontas, office phone: 00370 5 278 5091, mob. phone: 00370 682 25359, e-mail: mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
Credits: Sergeant Ross Tilly (UK Ministry of Defence)
