On April 6 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius met with Commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard and Adjutant General of Pennsylvania Major General Wesley Craig conducting a visit in Lithuania. The meeting officers discussed joint activities of combat training, joint multinational exercises and participation in multinational operations.
"More than two decades of cooperation with the Pennsylvania National Guard on the basis of the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) have brought undeniable benefit for both sides - professional qualification of troops could be improved in multinational environment, they were able to gain combat experience through joint service in multinational operations and share their organizational experience. The cooperation served as a crucial impetus for the freshly re-established Lithuanian Armed Forces in the last decade of last decade," Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen A. Pocius said.
At the meeting the Chief of Defence of Lithuania and the Commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard also addressed multinational exercises "Saber Strike" and "Amber Hope", and possible future cooperation between the Pennsylvania National Guard Training Centre and the General Adolfas Ramanauskas Warfare Training Centre.
On June 5 General Pocius and General Craig observed multinational exercise "Saber Strike 2013" currently in progress in the Baltic States.
On June 6 Commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard Major General Wesley Craig paid a visit to the Headquarters of the Lithuanian Land Force. At the meeting with Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force Major General Almantas Leika the guest was briefed on the Lithuanian Land Force, the meeting Generals also addressed the perspectives of further cooperation at the level of their services.
In a discussion over the further cooperation between the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania National Guard Maj Gen A. Leika presented to the guest several areas where U.S. assistance was estimated to be instrumental: training of intelligence officers, assistance in training Tactical Air Controller Parties (TACP) and counter-weapons of mass destruction specialists, cooperation between Juozas Lukša Training Centre of the Lithuanian Land Force with the military training institutions of the National Guard Training Centre, sharing good practice through introduction into positions and exploitation of infantry combat vehicles.
"I am very happy to find that you have thought ahead on the direction of further development of your armed forces and we can see a number of common points between us. We will put every effort to ensure that the demand for assistance you have identified would be met. From this moment it is a matter of the success of work of our planning staff," Gen Craig assured.
The meeting Generals also addressed the possibilities to complete and exchange programme in their units, to participate jointly in multinational military exercise sin Europe as well as to arrange collectively distance learning courses for staffs via the Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation (JCATS) system.
The cooperation between the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania National Guard commenced with its current intensity in 1993.
The Pennsylvania National Guard is arranging courses for representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on a regular basis, their instructors and observers are sent to Lithuanian-hosted multinational exercises, Lithuanian military attend exercises, instructor training programmes and other events in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania National Guard has delegated logistics personnel to serve with the National Support Element in Afghanistan. Military personnel of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania National Guard were also serving side by side in the joint Police Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (POMLT) from November 2010 to May 2012.
The Pennsylvania National Guard cultivates close cooperative relations with the majority of Lithuanian military institutions: the Joint Staff, National Defence Volunteer Force, Logistics Command, Special Operations Forces, Air Force, and the General Adolfas Ramanauslas Warfare Training Centre.
Press release based on the information by Spokesperson to the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Capt Skomantas Povilionis and PAO for the Lithuanian Land Force Capt Mindaugas Neimontas.
Photos by Alfredas Pliadis and Capt Mindaugas Neimontas
