On September 11-13 the Military Committee will meet in Chiefs of Defence (CHODs) Session in Istanbul (Turkey) where Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas, his NATO counterparts and NATO leadership will discuss topical points of regional security and NATO operations underway.
The session will focus on the implementation of the NATO Readiness Action Plan (RAP), regional security and its challenges, NATO's current operation in Afghanistan - the Resolute Support Mission, and the operation in the Western Balkans.
NATO Chiefs of Defence will also address additional guidance concerning NATO Force Posture, future adaption and transformation requirements. And finally, the next Director General of the International Military Staff will be elected.
General Petr Pavel, the current Chairman of the NATO Military Committee will chair the NATO CHODs meeting with support from General Philip Breedlove (Supreme Allied Commander Europe or SACEUR) and General Jean-Paul Paloméros (Supreme Allied Commander Transformation or SACT) in each session.
The Military Committee is the highest NATO's military authority subordinate to the North Atlantic Council, Defence Planning Committee and Nuclear Planning Group. It takes strategic military decisions and shapes advice to the North Atlantic Council, the decision-making body of the Alliance.
The top-level meetings of the Military Committee are attended by NATO CHODs while daily activities are carried out Military Representatives of NATO countries. Lithuania's military Representative to NATO and the EU is Brigadier General Gintautas Zenkevičius.
The Military Committee meets in CHODs Sessions three times per year, twice in Brussels and once in one of NATO allies on a rotational basis.
Information for the Media (in English): http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_122472.htm
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Captain Mindaugas Neimontas
Phone no.: 00370 5 278 5091, cell phone no.: 00370 682 25359, e-mail: mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
