On February 4 transfer of command ceremony of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania took place in Rukla. Outgoing Commander Lt Col Rene Braun (German Armed FORces) was replaced by his German colleague Lt Col Peer Papenbroock. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, Minister of Defence of Germany Ursula von der Leyen, Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis, and Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Jonas Vytautas Žukas.
"The continuous presence of allies in Lithuania and the region is a very strong signal of deterrence to potential aggressors. Every one of them assess that not only the Lithuanian Armed Forces but also its allies deployed here would come to the defence. Also, it is probable that the countries whose capabilities are in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group would be especially interested, just as we would, in a speedy activation of the NATO Response Force and Article 5 and it would have a positive effect on decision-making," Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas said.
The NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania had a well-stocked military training schedule recently. It took part in all of the most important Lithuania's exercises accompanied by units of the Lithuanian Land Force, Lithuanian Air Force, forces conducting the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states, colleagues from the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Groups in other countries. At Exercise Iron Wolf in November 2018 the NATO eFP BG trained redeployment of forces from one training site to another.
Deployment of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland was a historical decision taken by the NATO Heads of State and Government in July 2016. The capabilities are primarily a response to the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, and increase of Russia's military potential and show or force in the region.
The NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group deployed in Rukla since early 2017 is led by Germany. Troops with weaponry and equipment are also deployed by Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Croatia, and Iceland. In total, roughly 8 thousand allied soldiers served in the unit on a rotational basis over the two years. The NATO eFP BG is integrated into the Lithuanian Armed Forces Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf.
At different points within two years the NATO eFP BG was reinforced by German military units deployed to take part in exercises, actively trained in military training areas in Rukla and Pabradė, took part in international Exercise Iron Wolf, exercises in Poland, Estonia, and Latvia.
Photo credits: Sgt Spc Ieva Budzeikaitė
