NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU)
NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) in Vilnius, Lithuania, was inaugurated on 3 September 2015 at a formal ceremony attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė.
The NFIU Lithuania is one of the eight small new headquarters established by NATO in Central and Eastern European member countries in 2014 in response to changes in the security environment at the time, following the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia.
NATO Force Integration Units are small command and control headquarters whose key mission is to facilitate the rapid deployment of NATO Forces and additional rapid response elements into the region if required.
The NFIUs play a pivotal role in planning, exercising, and assisting potential reinforcements, thereby providing a vital link between national forces and multinational NATO forces.
During the NFIU Lithuania inauguration ceremony in Vilnius, a plaque with the NFIU Lithuania sign was unveiled by the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Gen. Peter Pavel and the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Gen. Ltn. Jonas Vytautas Žukas. (Photo Caption)
The establishment of first six NFIUs in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, was agreed by NATO Heads of State and Government at the Wales Summit in 2014. Two more NFIUs, in Hungary and Slovakia, were later activated on 1 September 2016.
The NATO Force Integration Unit Lithuania has been officially declared Fully Operational Capable since 17 June 2016, by Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas, following the signing of a letter informing the declaration to General Curtis Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
On 10 June 2016 the Full Operational Capability document marking full readiness of the unit to complete its tasks was signed at the Lithuanian Joint Staff HQ where the NFIU is based.
The achievement of Full Operational Capability after 9 months of intense work was an important landmark in the implementation of the decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Wales. It was the first step on the NFIU LTU way to carry out its mission, i.e., to facilitate operative deployment of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) and other allied forces in Lithuania.
Activation of the NFIUs is part of NATO's fundamental adaptation in the face of security challenges from the east and the south.
