From June 27 through July 10 three Lithuanian officers (one officer assigned to the headquarters and two operations and logistics specialists) attend Command Post Exercise (CPX) Joint Venture 2016 in the United Kingdom. The exercise tests the level of readiness of the Standing Joint Force Headquarters of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), including Lithuanian military personnel. Colonel Raimundas Vaikšnoras, Chief of the Operations Command, Joint Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, observed the exercise and met with Lithuanian participants in the UK.
Established in the end of 2015, the Joint Expeditionary Force is led by the United Kingdom-led and manned by six more states: Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway. JEF is composed of land, naval and air components assigned accordingly to the need by the contributing nations. The force is developed to be capable of providing rapid response to a developing crisis in any part of the world, including Eastern Europe. One Lithuanian officer has been serving with the Standing Joint Force Headquarters in Northwood, capable of planning and controlling wide spectrum operations, since this spring.
The UK-led force is a high readiness force that can be deployed to multinational operations led by NATO, UN, or partner states. JEF objective is to complete wide spectrum military operations, including deterrence, combat actions, and humanitarian assistance. Deployment of JEF components is decided by the contributing countries.
Lithuania's contribution to JEF comprises one staff officer, an infantry company (roughly 150 members) and a national support element.
The Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Joint Expeditionary Force was signed in London on 30 November 2015. JEF is planned to reach Full Operational Capability in 2018, and with full integration of national contributions and balance of capabilities with maritime, air and land components, JEF will be ready for deployment to operations. In case of a need, the capabilities may be tailored to specific mission or operation.
Military personnel assigned to JEF will maintain high readiness through training in various JEF training events and exercises.
In Lithuania's approach, JEF is one more reliable rapid response military tool enabling quick reaction to security threats. As part of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, Lithuania builds on military cooperation with other contributing countries, and in particular with United Kingdom. Defence and security cooperation between Lithuania and the UK has become really intense over the past several years.
This is not the first time Lithuania is involved in joint initiatives with the United Kingdom and this way steps cooperation with it. Lithuania has assigned the second largest contribution to the UK-led European Union Battle Group, comprising a company-sized unit, staff officers, and subject-matter specialists, on standby for six months as of this July. Our troops also performed standby for a UK-led EU BG in 2013 as well and are currently getting ready to be assigned to British-led NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2017.
Credit: organisers
