On July 17 through 19 Deputy Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Lt Gen Markus Laubenthal is conducting a visit to Lithuania.
On July 19 the guest and Chief of Defence Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys discussed regional security, organisation aspects and progress of Exercise Schneller Degen, military training, and deployment to international operations.
“It was an excellent opportunity to thank the Bundeswehr for our military friendship, trust and assistance in developing Lithuanian Armed Forces capacity. The currently running Exercise Schneller Degen is the first division-level exercise held in Lithuania and one of the brightest success stories in our cooperation. We have also discussed investments in infrastructure, prospects for officer training in Lithuania and Germany, and exchanged views on reserve training and use,” said Chief of Defence Lt Gen V. Rupšys rejoicing about the successful meeting.
During the visit in Lithuania, Deputy Inspector General Lt Gen M. Laubenthal visited the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Rukla, Lithuanian Armed Forces Gen Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area and General Adolfas Ramanauskas Warfare Training Centre where he met with participants of the international command element exercise Schneller Degen and Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force National Defence Volunteer Force Col Linas Kubilius.
Exercise Schneller Degen running on July 16–29 at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Gen Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in Pabradė trains the staff of the 10th Panzer Division of Germany and its brigade command elements. The exercise objective is to redeploy headquarters and command elements into the NATO forward region within minimum time with an aim to enhance interoperability and cooperation of allies in the process. The division command has arranged the Bundeswehr command post exercise on the territory of a NATO ally on its own initiative.
At Exercise Schneller Degen, headquarters personnel of the 10th Panzer Division of the Bundeswehr is training staffs of the 12th Tank Brigade, 37th Armored Infantry Brigade and the 23rd Mountain Infantry Brigade of Germany, as well as the staff of the Mechanized Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf of the Lithuanian Armed Forces to plan and lead joint allied defence operations. The exercise scenario trains responding to hybrid threats and carryingout high-intensity collective defence operations.
The international command element exercise Schneller Degen is the first exercise the 10th Panzer Division Headquarters with assigned units is conducting abroad. The joint training strengthens the cooperation between Lithuanian, U.S. and German military units and sends a strong signal: Even if the conditions are adverse, Germany still supports NATO allies and demonstrates the strength of its commitments and the importance of Alliance solidarity.
Information credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces
Photo credits: Sgt Spc 1st Class Ieva Budzeikaitė
