From June 13 to 23 troops of the Special Operations Forces Squadron of the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LITHSOF) are deployed with the multinational Exercise Amber Hope 2011. This is the first time LAF SOF have joined Amber Hope series which has been organised in Lithuania since 1995.
Members of LITHSOF improve skills both in the Pabradės Training Area and on the Baltic coast. They complete joint tasks with naval and air components of Amber Hope 2011. The operations are completed under the Exercise scenario based on NATO and EU operations and drawn as close as possible to real conditions of the operations.
The Exercise is a wonderful opportunity for troops of LITHSOF Squadron to train joint operation with the naval and air force personnel, coordinate and agree joint action to the end of preventing fictitious insurgent and pirate actions at sea.
During the active phase of the Exercise from June 19 to 23 LITHSOF troops conducted a naval operation involving
emergency situations which require response of all - special operations, naval and air components. The operations is focuses on interrogation of a crew of a captured ship, ship escort, liberation of ship crew, neutralization of adversaries, inspection and escort of ship, etc.
This is not an introduction for LITHSOF troops to naval operations; however, scenario and conditions of such operations are always different. Some of the operations during Amber Hope 2011 was conducted in the open sea, under adverse weather conditions, strong wind and roughness of the sea.
The Exercise took place from June 13 to 23 simultaneously in both the Pabradės Training Area, and the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone of Lithuania in the Baltic Sea. It involved more than 2,000 military and civilian personnel from seven NATO countries - Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and the USA, and two partner countries under the Partnership for Peace program - Georgia and Finland. Observer nations for the Exercise include: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Ukraine.
More than 1,600 personnel from all branches of the Lithuanian Armed Forces - land, air, naval and special operations force, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lithuanian Red Cross Society represented Lithuania across the elements of the Exercise structure.
The goal of the Exercise "Amber Hope 2011" is to enhance cooperation among the military divisions of the Partnership for Peace and NATO countries while training to take part in joint crisis response operations and strengthen military cooperation between NATO and partners of the Alliance. "Amber Hope 2011" will also improve and evaluate readiness of the Lithuanian Armed Forces to deliver Host Nation Support (HNS) to incoming forces.
Lithuanian Armed Forces have been organizing Amber Hope since 1995. The last series of Amber Hope was held in Klaipėda in 2007. This year, the Exercise is organized and conducted by the Joint Headquarters of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
More information about the Exercise:
www.kam.lt
http://kariuomene.kam.lt/lt/ah2011.html
www.facebook.com/GintarineViltis
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The Exercise is a wonderful opportunity for troops of LITHSOF Squadron to train joint operation with the naval and air force personnel | During the active phase of the Exercise from June 19 to 23 LITHSOF troops conducted a naval operation involving air components |
Pictures from: SOF archive
