On October 24 Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius returned to Lithuania after his visit in the U.S.A. which began on October 16. During the visit he met with high-ranking officials of the U.S. Government and the Armed Forces with whom he discussed the perspectives of the multinational mission in Afghanistan, joint exercises and relevant points of bilateral cooperation.
Chief of Defence of Lithuania began the visit by meeting with Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania National Guard Major General Wesley E. Craig and Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett.
At the meetings the experience of the 19 years of partnership between the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania National Guard and joint exercises were addressed as well as the experience of reserve training shared.
Lt Gen A. Pocius called the nearly two decades-long partnership a great success. According to him, the experience drawn from joint exercises and training was particularly useful for Lithuanian military in multinational deployments. From 2010 to 2012 military personnel delegated by the Pennsylvania National Guard served in the Lithuanian-led Police Advisory Team in Ghor, Afghanistan.
Chief of Defence of Lithuania conveyed to Adjutant General Wesley E. Craig an invitation from Minister of National Defence Rasa Juknevičienė to visit a joint Lithuanian-U.S. combat training event Lithuania will host next year.
While visiting the U.S.A. Lithuanian Chief of Defence also met Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S.A. General Martin E. Dempsey at the Pentagon. Chiefs of Defence of both countries discussed the perspectives of the NATO's operation in Afghanistan and plans of the transition and withdrawal from Afghanistan. Lt Gen A. Pocius also invited General M. Dempsey to consider the possibility of transferring a part of surplus equipment and weaponry left over after the withdrawal process to the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
The command of the U.S. armed forces presented to Lt Gen A. Pocius the army development concept and the reserve organisation and training model. While visiting the Pentagon Lt Gen A.Pocius also met with Assistant Secretary of Defence for Reserve Affairs Jessica L. Wright.
Later Lt Gen A.Pocius met with General Jean-Paul Palomeros, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation at the Supreme Allied Command Transformation (SACT) Norfolk. The high-ranking officers discussed the perspectives of cooperation in military training and education, organisational shortfalls in the Baltic Defence College's (BALTDEFCOL) activity and possible solutions, and potential utilisation of the Lithuanian military bases for NATO transportation operations and processes.
Lithuanian Chief of Defence also visited the Crisis Management Centre of Pennsylvania, the Navy SEAL, and the U.S. Army War College.
Spokesperson to the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Capt Skomantas Povilionis
Photo courtesy: U.S. Army and SACT.
