On November 10 forces of two Lithuanian Armed Force Battalions started tactical movement from the areas of assembly in Švenčionėliai town to Pabradė starting the first sizeable operation of the international Exercise Iron Wolf 2019-II - an over 1.5 thousand strong attack on the positions of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in and around the Pabradė Training Area.
The training is conducted according to "force on force" principle, i.e., the training units "fight" each other, as it is common in many of the NATO countries. Both sides, the Blue Force played by the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group, and the Red Force played by the Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion and Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion , had prepared offensive and defensive action plans that are not known to each other several days ahead of the operation, carried out real reconnaissance operations and started offensive and defensive actions on the set day, while the action on the battlefield is monitored by an ad hoc observation and evaluation team.
Aside from the Lithuanian Land Force and other Lithuanian units, the exercise participants also come from 11 foreign countries, including the contributing nations of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group - Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Norway, Netherlands. Also, a Polish tank company that was deployed for the exercise to reinforce Lithuanian units, infantry companies from Estonia and the United Kingdom, Tactical Air Control Parties from the United States, a reconnaissance platoon from Portugal, fire support specialists from Canada.
General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion is providing artillery support to other exercise participants using the 155 mm PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems that the Lithuanian Armed Forces has procured recently from Germany. The unit is training call for fire procedures at the present operation and real live fire shooting is planned for the end of the exercise.
Role-2 field hospital has been deployed by MD Jonas Basanavičius Military Medical Service of the Lithuanian Armed Forces for Lithuanian military medics to train administering role 2 medical care to simulated casualties and making them able to fight again as quickly as possible.
The international Exercise Iron Wolf 2019-II will certify readiness of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group based in Rukla to plan and carry out defensive operations in coordination with the MIB Iron Wolf Staff, to evaluate readiness of Birutė and Algirdas Battalions to plan and carry out defence and interoperability while conducting joint operations with allies and partners.
The exercise trains the total of nearly 4,000 soldiers and involve nearly 1,000 units of military equipment - tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, artillery systems, logistical support and command-post vehicles. The main part of the exercise takes place on November 4-18 at General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in Pabradė and surrounding territories.
POC: Maj Gintautas Ciunis +370 65754854, gintautas.ciunis@mil.lt
