On October 13 Lieutenant General Donald M. Campbell Jr., Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, made a visit to the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf in Rukla. At a meeting with Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force Major General Almantas Leika and Commander of the Iron Wolf Brigade Colonel Raimundas Vaikšnoras the U.S. General discussed combined Lithuanian-U.S. exercises in Lithuania.
LTG D. M. Campbell also met with the Lithuanian and the U.S. soldiers deployed at the Duke Vaidotas Mechanised Infantry Battalion in Rukla. The guest observed the Iron Wolf Brigade and the combat team of the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army, deployed in Lithuania conducting a combined live-fire exercise at the Gaižiūnų Training Range, and took interest in the bilateral cooperation experience of both nations' soldiers. Later the U.S. delegation conducted a visit to the Duke Vaidotas Battalion.
Rotating U.S. contingents have been deployed in the Baltic States and Poland since spring as part of a U.S.-led Operation Atlantic Resolve demonstrating commitments to collective defence.
The rotating contingents of Atlantic Resolve is also one of the NATO measures applied in response to the changed security situation in the region and in order to strengthen the security of Poland and the Baltic States by providing a persistent presence of allied forces in their territories.
The U.S. contingents have been deployed in Lithuania, other Baltic States and Poland since this April. The United States has sent roughly 600 infantry personnel to join all the major exercises held in the countries.
At the moment the U.S. soldiers are also involved in an international anti-tank units' Exercise Hunter 2014 where they are collaborating with anti-tank units of the Lithuanian Land Force and Air Force.
Also, U.S. heavy combat equipment was brought to Lithuania in early October for combined exercises with Lithuanian military. The U.S. troops coming from the 2nd Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army, brought 8 STRYKER armoured personnel carriers, 8 BRADLEY fighting infantry vehicles, 4 HMMWV all-terrain vehicles, 1 M88 heavy technical service armoured vehicle, 2 refuelling trucks, and other technical service vehicles and personnel carriers.
Photo credit: Captain Ainaras Jonaitis.
