October 12, US troops, members of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and officers of public Security Service under the Ministry of the Interior who will provide training for Ghor police as the Police Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (POMLT), began the period of joint training before deployment to Ghor province, Afghanistan.
Before the final phase due to begin Lithuanian troops and officers as well as troops of Pennsylvania National Guard underwent training separately in their home countries.
POMLT in its full composition - 12 US soldiers and 8 Lithuanians - will conduct training together across the training areas of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and Warfare Training Centre in Nemenčinė. Troops are expectedto complete the joint training phase in Lithuania by the end of October.
POMLT will enter operation in Ghor in November together with new rotation of PRT. Police Operational Mentor and Liaison Team will be commanded by a Lithuanian officer.
As Lithuania intensifies support to Afghan national security forces in its responsibility area, Ghor province, where the majority of such force is local police, Police Operational and Mentoring Team will be established to provide training for local officers. Involvement of the Pennsylvania National Guard into the Lithuanian-led project will extend a long and successful cooperation between Lithuania and USA in Ghor.
European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL) based in the Lithuanian-led PRT camp in Chaghcharan and acting in coordination with the PRT operates in Ghor along with ISAF forces. Current EUPOL element in Afghanistan is manned by Lithuania, Poland, and Finland. The team organizes instructions, practical tasks, consultations regarding application of law and ensurment of law and order to personnel of law ensurement institutions of the province.
At the moment the 11th rotation of the Lithuanian-led PRT serve in Afghanistan, the shift is based on the Lithuanian Grand Duke Kęstutis Motorised Infantry Battalion located in Tauragės Distr. In November they will be replaced by the 12th shift formed mainly of personnel of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion.
PRT-12 will be deployed to Afghanistan in November. The rotation is formed mainly from troops of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion. Together with Lithuanian military personnel PRT includes civilians and military from Japan, Denmark, Ukraine, USA, and Georgia. The key task of PRT is to help Afghan Government extend authority in the province, to ensure security, and create relevant conditions for provincial reconstruction. Prerequisites for the allied forces deployed in Afghanistan to finish the mission will be delivered as soon as the country's National Security Forces are able to ensure security of the country and its people independently. In the present period major attention is paid to training and preparation projects for Afghan National Security Forces in the framework of the new NATO ISAF strategy in Afghanistan.
