Soldiers of the 3rd Mechanised Infantry Company, Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion, successfully concluded two-week multinational Exercise Brave Lion in Denmark and return home.
The exercise held in the Oksbøl Training Ara of the Danish Armed Forces assessed readiness of Lithuanian soldiers and their colleagues with the 2nd Mechanised Battalion, Dragoon Regiment, Danish Armed Forces, to carry out standby for the United Kingdom-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). The event trained soldiers of the Lithuanian Algirdas' Battalion, the United Kingdom and Denmark.
"This exercise was a serious test to our company, we face a number of challenges, but we managed to cope with them and exceeded the aims we had set for ourselves. I see the exercise as a success," second in command of the 3rd Mechanised Infantry Company 1st Lt Marius Dzencevičius said.
Having completed a year-long standby for the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJFT), soldiers of the 3rd Mechanised Infantry Company of Algirdas Battalion will be on standby for the JEF as of 1 January 2018.
The UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) was established in 2015. Other countries contributing to the force generated to have a capability for responding to crises in any part of the globe are Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, and two countries that joined the JEF as of this summer - Sweden and Finland.
Lithuania assigned one staff officer for the Joint Expeditionary Force, he has been in service with the JEF operational HQ in Northwood since early 2016, and an infantry company (approx. 150 troops), a medical specialist and a national support element.
The developed Joint Expeditionary Force will be a high readiness force tailored for wide-spectrum military operations, including deterrence, combat and humanitarian assistance. The force will also be able to support NATO, United Nations, or partner nations-led multinational operations. Decisions on deployment of the elements forming the Joint Expeditionary Force are taken by the assigning nations.
The Memorandum of Establishment of the Joint Expeditionary Force was signed in 20 November 2015 in London. The JEF is planned to reach Full Operational Capability in 2018.
To Lithuania, the JEF is one more reliable high readiness instrument enabling rapid response to emerging crises. Lithuania's contribution to the JEF strengthens its military cooperation with other contributing nations, and particularly the United Kingdom, the cooperation with which has intensified significantly over the past several years.
Photo credits: Corporal Arnas Čemerka
