May 11, Gen Stèphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation paid an official visit in Lithuania and met with the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Gen Arvydas Pocius.
During the meeting generals discussed armed forces development issues, cooperation among the Alliance nations saving resources in the area of security, the Baltic air-policing mission and the results achieved during the visit.
"Cooperation with Allied Command Transformation is extremely important for Lithuanian Armed Forces, as it provides guidance on how to reorganize our armed forces, what military capabilities we have to develop to strengthen our contribution to NATO alliance. As for NATO military capability development, one of Allied Command Transformation trends includes distance learning. We already have officers who have completed NATO distance learning courses. This is convenient, cheap and useful for Lithuanian soldiers - said Maj Gen A. Pocius.
Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Gen Stèphane Abrial stressed the importance of international cooperation within the alliance by strengthening defence and conducting defensive missions, as well as cooperation between the Baltic countries. He highlighted the Pooling and Sharing principle in use of military capabilities. According to Gen Stèphane Abrial the Baltic NATO air policing mission is a perfect example of this.
Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Gen A. Pocius while speaking about the Baltic countries' cooperation models, which are characterized by joint use of military force, emphasized such projects like the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL), the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System (BALTNET) and Baltic Squadron (BALTRON).
While discussing the results of the visit generals discussed yesterday's meeting held at the Energy Security Centre. Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Gen Stèphane Abrial noted that in order to achieve the status of NATO's centre of excellence, the joint efforts, other countries' support and involvement in the project will be needed. According to him Allied Command Transformation should support Lithuania's initiative in creating the Energy Security Centre and assess how they might contribute to the efficiency of the centre in the future.
Supreme Allied Commander Transformation visited Lithuania at invitation of the Chief of Defence of Lithuania, during the visit the guest met with the Minister of National Defence Rasa Juknevicienė, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė and Director of Energy Security Centre Audrius Bruzga.
Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is leading at the strategic command level the transformation of NATO's military structure, forces, capabilities and doctrine. It is enhancing training, particularly of commanders and staffs, conducting experiments to assess new concepts, and promoting interoperability throughout the Alliance. ACT is one of two strategic commands at the head of NATO's Command Structure and is deployed in Norfolk, Virginia, the USA. Two Lithuanian Armed Forces serve in this Command