On February 1 Commander of the Chief of Staff of the German Army Lieutenant General Jörg Vollmer and Commander of the Lithuanian Land Force Brigadier General Valdemaras Rupšys signed an official letter of cooperation at the Lithuanian Land Force Headquarters in Vilnius.
"Decision has been made - Lithuania is our partner. Our soldiers will serve here, train together, and will be integrated into your defence planning," Lieutenant General J. Vollmer said.
The document aims to consolidate a beneficial bilateral partnership expressed through exchange of knowledge and experience and strengthening cooperation in military training and exercises between land forces, also through drafting defence plans, concepts, and doctrines, and in other important areas.
"Deployment of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence battalion in Rukla is a serious support to strengthening defence of the country, organisation of military training, and improvement of interoperability with NATO allies. The thousand NATO soldiers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway serve as a powerful deterrent against a potential aggressor. That sends a message we are a part of a strong defence alliance. It is also an opportunity to improve mutual relations with land forces with all eFP countries here. We are ready to give full host nation support to deployed units and integrate the NATO eFP battalion into our training schedule. I am certain that the agreement we have signed with the German Army today will further strengthen the close cooperation that we already enjoy," BG Valdemaras Rupšys said.
During the visit Chief of Staff of the German Army LG J.Vollmer and his delegation also met with Chief of Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas, leadership of the Iron Wolf Brigade, and representatives of the Joint Staff and the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU). During the visit the delegation will view living and work premises for the NATO eFP battalion troops, and discuss organisational matters.
The Lithuanian Chief of Defence and the German Chief of Staff discussed deployment, training, subordination and use of the NATO eFP battalion.
"The NATO battlegroup must be ready to act with no notice and in case of any scenario of military aggression. This is our view and the view of the Bundeswehr. Therefore we agree that training of the unit in Lithuania should be focused on both, different threats and interoperability with the Lithuanian Armed Forces," LG J. V. Žukas said after the meeting.
The Lithuanian Chief of Defence presented to the German colleague in brief readiness for defence and development plans of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and thanked for the help in training operators and maintenance personnel for the recently procured PzH2000 howitzers. The Chief of Defence also expressed a hope that the cooperation will continue as the Lithuanian Armed Forces prepare to operate the Boxer infantry fighting vehicles.
Throughout the deployment and the first rotation period the German troops will be based in Rukla Garrison and train with Belgian, Dutch and Norwegian soldiers at field training exercises of different levels in Lithuanian Armed Forces' training areas.
PAO for the Lithuanian Land Force Captain Donatas Suchockis
00370 5 278 5091, 00370 640 45380, donatas.suchockis@mil.lt
