On July 5 in the Lithuanian Land Force Headquarters (Vilnius) a solemn exchange of command ceremony was held. Major General Jonas Vytautas Žukas who was in command of Lithuanian Land Force for 5 years was replaced by the Brigadier General A. Leika. Major General Jonas V. Žukas was appointed to the position of Lithuanian military representative to NATO and the European Union in Brussels.
The ceremony was attended by the National Defence Minister Rasa Juknevičienė, the Lithuanian Armed Forces Commander Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius, National Defence Vice-Ministers: Vytautas Umbrasas, Indrė-Pociūte-Levickienė, Mykolas Juozapavičius, Estonian and Latvian Land Forces commanders, Lithuanian Armed Forces force and unit commanders.
"To be in command of the Land Force for me is great honour, great responsibility and a tremendous challenge. I have been serving in Land Force since 1991. All the time I wanted to return to this force, and serve with motivated and professional soldiers and commanders. I am well aware that we are facing very serious missions related to peacetime tasks, international operations and armed defence of the state. It is clear that together we will have to prepare ourselves properly to accomplish these tasks, because no one else will accomplish them for us. General Colin Powell said, "The visions and plans are not implemented by magic - it requires sweat, correct attitude and hard work." This is what awaits all of us "- said the new Land Force Commander Brig Gen A. Leika.
Prior to his appointment to the new position Brig Gen A. Leika served as Director General for Capabilities and Armaments of the Ministry of National Defence. In this position he will be replaced by Colonel Valdas Šiaučiulis.
Brig Gen A. Leika has been serving in the National Defence System since March 1991. He started his service in Voluntary Service of the National Defence System. A.Leika was in command of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanized Infantry Battalion, Lithuanian-led Ghor Provincial Reconstruction Team, worked in variety of senior positions in Lithuania and abroad.
Brig Gen studied in General Jonas Žemaitis Lithuanian Military Academy and graduated from the U.S. Army War College, the Baltic Defence College in Tartu (Estonia), senior officers and commander's course. He holds a Master of Arts and Strategic studies degree.
A. Leika has been awarded the Knight's Cross Order, the Medal of Vytis Cross Order, other awards of National Defence System, NATO and foreign countries. A. Leika is a member of Lithuanian Volunteer Union, the Baltic Defence College Alumni Association and US Army War College Alumni Association. The officer is married, has two daughters and two sons.
The Land Force is an integral part of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The goal of Land Force is to prepare military units for state's land area protection and defence, capable of participating in multinational operations. Currently Land Force includes around 3.5 thousand soldiers and civilians, and about 4.3 thousand volunteers.
