On September 20 a formal homecoming and decorations ceremony will be held for the last shift of the Provincial Reconstruction Team of Ghor province (PRT-17) in the square of the Ministry of National Defence in Vilnius. This event will formally put an end to Lithuania's first independent and the largest multinational mission that our country had been involved in for 8 years.
Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius, Minister of the Interior Dailis Barakauskas, Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius, Members of Parliament, leadership of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, commanders of Chaghcharan PRT rotations, representatives, ambassadors and defence attachés of the countries which had contributed to PRT mission, relatives of troops, and other guests.
The Minister of National Defence and the Chief of Defence will present decorations to PRT-17 personnel who will line up in a formation under the lead of Lieutenant Colonel Tomas Masaitis.
The parade will symbolically take place in the same square from where the first shift of the PRT headed by Colonel Gintautas Zenkevičius was deployed to Afghanistan in June 2005.
A memorial plaque will be opened in the White Hall of the Ministry of National Defence to mark the largest multinational mission Lithuania had been involved in. Chief of Defence Lieutenant General A. Pocius will present memorial souvenirs to the commanders of all the PRT rotations.
Furthermore, Ministries of National Defence and Foreign Affairs will co-organise a press conference in the Constitution Hall at the Parliament on October 9 which will provide a summing-up of Lithuania's activities in the province of Ghor in Afghanistan.
Lithuania took up running an International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) PRT in 2005. It was a project of a joint civilian-military character. Lithuania's collaborative efforts with other countries, Denmark, Georgia, Iceland, Japan, USA, and Ukraine, helped Afghan government expand its influence in the province and ensured security in Ghor.
After the withdrawal of the PRT, Special Operations Squadron deployed in southern Afghanistan, Lithuanian-led Air Mentoring Team training Afghan helicopter pilots, National Support Element providing logistic support to Lithuanian military in Afghanistan, officers posted NATO Operational Headquarters, and Protection Team of the Head of the Lithuanian Special Mission in Afghanistan continue service in Afghanistan.
More than 2.5 thousand troops of the Lithuanian Armed Forces had rotated serving as the PRT over the duration of the mission. By joining efforts with military servicemembers from other countries cooperating in Ghor they ensured security and stability as well as conditions for local government to perform its functions and implement civilian projects more safely.
More than 200 development cooperation projects completed in Ghor enhanced capacity of local governmental institutions, education and healthcare sector, advanced rural development, improved infrastructure, and other areas.
Lithuanian troops also trained and consulted the Afghan National Security Forces, i.e. police and military officers in Ghor province that are currently taking care of security in Ghor. Personnel of the Lithuanian-led PRT prepared more than 700 Afghan policemen of various ranks and 1.2 thousand local military.
Lithuanian military handed over the responsibility for security in the province to local Government and withdrew from Chaghcharan, capital of Ghor where the Lithuanian-run compound was established, late this August.
Photos from MOD archive: Lithuania took up running a PRT in June 2005.
