On June 3 through 5, Chief of the National Guard Bureau of the United States General Steven S. Nordhaus is conducting a visit to Lithuania. He discussed bilateral Lithuanian-U.S. military ties with the Lithuanian side, as well as the regional security situation and the long-standing partnership between the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania National Guard. Another significant topic of the visit is the upgrading process of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, development of the 1st Division and the Full Operational Capacity objective deadlined by the end of the decade.
General S. Nordhaus has already met with Chief of Defence General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, the two addressed regional security, bilateral Lithuania-U.S. cooperation and way forward for the partnership between the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania National Guard. Later, the delegation continued the visit at the General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in Pabradė where they familiarised with Host Nation Support and force movement infrastructure.
“The military cooperation between Lithuania and the United States is one of the key pillars of our national security. The partnership spanning more than three decades has helped Lithuania to adopt NATO standards, strengthen capabilities, and to build a modern armed forces. Today, our partner significantly assists in developing the 1st Division and its run-up for Full Operational Capacity,” said Chief of Defence General Raimundas Vaikšnoras.
The Pennsylvania National Guard has been maintaining State Partnership with Lithuania since 1993.
Over more than three decades, the partnership between Lithuania and the PANG has encompassed join training, military training, deployments to multinational operations, cyber defence, military engineer projects, and made a significant input in the development of the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ division level command and control capabilities.
The partnership also played a critical role in the integration of Lithuania’s new capability, UH-60M Black Hawk, in the Armed Forces. The Pennsylvania National Guard is assisting Lithuania in multiple launch rocket system fire engineer training and shares the experience required to use and integrate the new capabilities in the overall combat organisation of the Armed Forces effectively. Today, the experience is particularly useful in developing the 1st Lithuanian Armed Forced Division. The partnership received the Partnership of the Year Award as the best in the U.S. State Partnership Program in 2023.
General Steven S. Nordhaus is the senior officer of the U.S. National Guard and Chief of the National Guard Bureau of the United States. He is in charge of the organisation which brings together over 430 thousand military personnel and serves as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard Matters (ACJCS-NG). He also directly advises on the pertaining matters the President of the United States, Secretary of War and the National Security Council.
The National Guard Bureau oversees the U.S. State Partnership Programme currently including over 100 countries worldwide. The partnership between Lithuania and the Pennsylvania National Guard is seen as one of its most defining cooperation success stories.
Photo credit: Pte Džiugas Švaikauskas.
