On October 10 President of the Republic of Lithuania HE Gitanas Nausėda paid a visit to the mobile command post of the Bundeswehr’s 41st Mechanised Infantry Brigade Forward Command Element and observed a live-fire event at Exercise Fast Griffin in the Lithuanian Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment, Gaižiūnai Training Area (Jonava region).
“The first exercise taking place in Lithuania since the bilateral agreement with Germany was signed demonstrates the commitments to the public and ensured security in practice,” said President of the Republic of Lithuania HE Gitanas Nausėda who had the opportunity to view the weaponry and equipment of the training military units.
Deployed to Lithuania since a week ago, troops and equipment of the German 413th Light Infantry Battalion, 41st Mechanised Infantry Brigade of the Bundeswehr, held the first joint exercise with the Lithuanian military. The exercise assesses readiness of the German troops and service members of the Lithuanian Land Force King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion for defensive operations and breaks down into three phases: logistics and arrival of forces, field training exercise and live-fire event. The exercise is conducted by approx. 250 troops and up to 80 pieces of military equipment. The exercise wraps on October 14.
“The first joint exercise of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the German 413th Light Infantry Battalion, 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, in Lithuania today have demonstrated clearly that the Madrid decisions are acted upon. We have been training with Germany since 2016, so we know each other and we are able to cooperate closely, while the concrete exercises reflect the threats we have to be always ready to face,” Chief of Defence underscored.
“The Brigade Forward Command Element was deployed to Lithuania on the basis of a bilateral decision on assignment of a German brigade to Lithuania, today at an exercise we were able to see the result of its activity. More exercises are planned ahead, while the excellent welcome to Lithuania has allowed us to get ready for the present one quickly and without too many challenges,” said Commander of the 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade Brig Gen Christian Nawrat.
Lithuania is contributing substantially to the regional deterrence by leading the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group Lithuania in Rukla since 2017, by investing in military infrastructure in Lithuania and by contributing to modernization of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Assignment of the German enhanced Vigilance Activities Brigade has significantly improved the ability of the Bundeswehr to ensure Lithuania’s security with other NATO Allies.
Information credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Photo credits: SSgt Virginijus Stonys.
