On March 19-20 Chief of the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Maj Gen Vitalijus Vaikšnoras observed Exercise Joint Venture 2018 of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in Cyprus.
Seven Lithuanian officers were training in the exercise. Joint Venture 2018 assessed the ability of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force to respond to threats and identified loopholes.
Established in the end of 2015, the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is led and its core is provided by the United Kingdom and generated to have a capability for responding to crises in any part of the globe, including Eastern Europe. Other countries contributing land, air and maritime units to the force as the need arises are Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Norway, and Sweden and Finland joined the JEF in the summer of 2017.
Lithuania assigned one staff officer for the Joint Expeditionary Force, he has been in service with the JEF operational HQ in Northwood since early 2016, and an infantry company (approx. 150 troops), a medical specialist and a national support element. The Memorandum of Establishment of the Joint Expeditionary Force was signed in 20 November 2015 in London. The JEF is planned to reach Full Operational Capability in 2018 when national forces are fully integrated and the capabilities at hand will be balanced with land, air and maritime element. They can be tailored to a specific mission or operation. The force will be able to act as a stand-alone force or support NATO, United Nations, or partner nations-led multinational operations.
To Lithuania, the JEF is one more reliable high readiness instrument enabling rapid response to emerging crises. Lithuania's contribution to the JEF strengthens its military cooperation with other contributing nations, and particularly the United Kingdom, the cooperation with which has intensified significantly over the past several years.
