On June 5, on the evening of BALTOPS 2012 opening day, US, Lithuanian and Dutch military personnel were invited to attend a cultural event. During the event participants of the Exercise could observe an authentic enactment of a Lithuanian medieval knights' tournament with reconstructed weapons that were used by ancient Lithuanian warriors. No one was left indifferent to the tournament: troops joined the performance and were able to take a closer look or try out reconstructions of ancient weapons and armor. Exercise participants from the USA and the Netherlands were engaged by the history and traditions of the Lithuanian forces.
During the event Maj Mike Juinn, Commander of the US marines, and Lt Franssen Martin, Commander of the Dutch Diving and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, accentuated that their military personnel were ready to cooperate with their partners actively, and said that they anticipated mutual benefit for all the participants of the multinational Exercise BALTOPS 2012.
Commander of the IInd Mechanised Infantry Company of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion Capt Darius Žūkas expressed his satisfaction about the opportunity BALTOPS 2012 provided for MIB "Iron Wolf" to demonstrate professionalism of the military personnel and to share experience with the US marines. "The symbol of our company is a clenched fist which signifies the strength and unity of our troops as well as our feature to fight like wolves", said Capt D. Žūkas. Servicemembers from the Netherlands were quick to respond that their combat divers also fight against sharks even though they use knives, not fists.
During the cultural evening of the opening day troops not only shared thoughts about the course of the Exercise but also made friendly contacts.
The Exercise held in the territorial waters and for the first time on the soil of Lithuania - Kairiai Training Area (Klaipėda Distr.) and Nemirseta (Palanga Distr.) - involves more than 700 troops from the Lithuanian, US, and Dutch national forces, and NATO Command.
12 countries, USA, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, France, Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, Georgia, Russia, and Sweden, deployed military personnel to BALTOPS 2012, multinational training event held in the territorial waters of Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia in the Baltic Sea.
