Maj Gen Arvydas Pocius, Lithuanian Chief of Defence, visited the Pabradės Training Area on June 16 and spoke with participants of multinational exercise Amber Hope 2011 regarding their training activities, difficulties and achievements.
The Chief of Defence visited with Exercise Command, both multinational battalions, held discussions with various forces members involved in the Exercise, took note of all of the issues commanders and soldiers are facing, and received an update on lessons learned to-date. Conductors of the Exercise provided an update on preparations for the main phase, and reiterated that the high motivation displayed by participating units would help ensure achievement of Exercise goals.
Amber Hope 2011 has brought together troops from nine NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries. The Land component is the largest contributor to the Exercise, and is comprised of units trained by land forces personnel, two multinational battalions, and engineering and NBCD decontamination companies. The Air component includes two Mi-8 helicopters and two high-performance L-39 jet trainer aircraft from the Lithuanian Air Force. The Naval component consists of five warships from the Lithuanian Naval Force, one harbour cutter, Sea Coastal Surveillance Service, and troops from the Special Operations Forces.
The training units act as a part of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), encompassing all the components of armed forces - land, naval, air and special operations forces.
According to Exercise Command, the fictitious intention of ISAF is to separate insurgents from the local population through information and civilian-military cooperation operations in order to weaken the combat capabilities of the insurgents by limiting their ability to re-arm and re-supply. To enact such a scenario, participating soldiers conduct a great deal of communication with the fictitious local government, are involved in negotiations and engage in a number of small combat incidents and demonstrations.
Amber Hope 2011 is taking place simultaneously in both the Pabradės Training Area and the territorial waters of Lithuania in the Baltic Sea. More than 2,000 military and civilian personnel from seven NATO countries - Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and USA, and two PfP countries - Georgia and Finland are participating in this year's exercise. Observers were delegated by the armed forces of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Ukraine.
Lithuanian Armed Forces have been organizing Amber Hope exercises since 1995, with the last series of the exercise being held in Klaipėda in 2007. This year, the Exercise is organized and conducted by the Joint Headquarters of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Pictures by Vilius Džiavečka
For more information about the Exercise:
http://kariuomene.kam.lt/en/ah11.html
www.facebook.com/GintarineViltis
The points of contact for Exercise Amber Hope 2011 are:
In the Pabradės Training Area - Capt Mindaugas Neimontas, Head of Media Operations Section, cell phone 00370 640 45 380, e-mail neimontas@gmail.com
In Klaipėda - Capt (N) Antanas Brencius, cell phone 00370 698 18196, e-mail antanas.brencius@mil.lt
