News archive (2005 - 03)

On Thursday, 31 March a rotation of NATO forces engaged in an air-policing mission in the Baltic States is scheduled to take place.

Norwegians troops who are completing their mission in Lithuania will be replaced by troops from the Dutch Royal Air Force. The first two out of four Dutch aircraft fighters F-16 landed at Zokniai on 30 March. On 31 March, the second pair of the Dutch fighters will land at the Lithuanian Air Forces Base in Zokniai, where a mission handover ceremony  is also scheduled to take place. 

Comments (1)  |  More

 On 30 March a Lithuanian reconnaissance team returned from Afghanistan, where it travelled to familiarise with a situation in Ghor Province, where a Lithuania-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), with assistance from other NATO forces, is scheduled to start operating in the summer later this year. Leading the Lithuanian reconnaissance team was Commander of the Lithuanian Forces in Afghanistan Lieutenant Colonel Gintautas Zenkevicius who will also act as head of the Ghor Provincial Reconstruction Team.

The Lithuanian representatives together with troops from NATO nations contributing to the mission visited Chakhcharan, located 400 kilometres west of the Afghan capital. The troops met with Ghor Provincial Governor Qadeer Alam, Police Chief Faizulah Salihe and local attorney general Noor Muhamed Kaker to discuss security concerns and examine potential sites for the Lithuania-led PRT.

More

On Wednesday, 30 March, in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Gediminas Kirkilas will meet with delegations of the Estonian Parliamentary Committee on National Defence and the Latvian Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Domestic Affairs.

More

Together with Minister of National Defence Gediminas Kirkilas the President will inspect water purification equipment available by the Battalion. Since the beginning of the year the unit has been placed for six-month duration on stand-by position within the NATO Response Force.

The President will also be invited to familiarize with HMHWV all-terrain vehicles that have replenished supplies of the Battalion's Arsenal. Of the said twenty-four vehicles eleven are designed for transport of personnel, ten for armament transport and three for medical evacuation.

More

On Sunday, 20 March Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Major General Valdas Tutkus left for an official visit to the United States.

Major General Valdas Tutkus is visiting the US at the invitation of General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This is the first visit by Major General Valdas Tukus in the capacity of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Commander.

On Thursday, 24 March the Lithuanian Armed Forces Commander is scheduled to meet with General Richard B. Myers, visit Lithuanian military personnel who are serving at the US Central Command Tampa, Florida.

More

On Wednesday, 23 March, troops of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces KFOR-12 will complete undergoing preparation for the involvement in an international mission in Kosovo. The KFOR-12 rotation comprised of troops serving with the 5th Territorial Unit, Vytis Military District, Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces, is due to engage for the mission in a conflict region in the province of Kosovo in April later this year. Lithuanian volunteers will serve six months as part of the Polish-Ukrainian Battalion, POLUKRBAT. The Lithuanian platoon will undertake tasks including guarding of a peacekeepers" base camp and a church near Kachanik, carrying of patrols at control points and performing rapid reaction and other tasks.

Prior to the foreign engagement in Kosovo, KFOR-12 troops underwent an intensive 3 month training at the Lithuanian Grand Duke Butigeidis Dragoon Training Battalion of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces.

More

On Wednesday, 16 March Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Gediminas Kirkilas, who is currently visiting the US, met in Norfolk with Admiral Edmund Giambastiani, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT).

During the meeting, the officials discussed aspects of NATO transformation, further prospects of development of NATO Response Force (NRF). The Minister inquired the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation about the prospects to integrate the Tallinn-based Baltic Defence College into the NATO training system.

The meeting further discussed an issue covering the pending Lithuania-led mission to reconstruct a province in Afghanistan.

More

On Friday, 18 March, in Luxembourg, Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Gediminas Kirkilas will take part in an informal meeting of EU Ministers of Defence.

The meeting will focus on the development of the European Union military capabilities, the fight against terrorism, the EU-led Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ministers will also discuss the usability of military capabilities of EU member states during natural disasters and a possible European security and defence policy in the efforts to settle security and stability problems in conflict regions, especially in Africa.

More

During the meeting US Secretary of Defence D. Rumsfeld thanked the Lithuanian Minister of Defence for the participation of Lithuanian troops in the US-led missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and underlined his great appreciation for Lithuania's responsibility to be in the lead of a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.  On his turn, Minister G. Kirkilas thanked the US Secretary of Defence for the US leadership in supporting Lithuania's bid to join NATO and for the ongoing US military support. G. Kirkilas underlined Lithuania's willingness to contribute to the spread of freedom and democracy in Afghanistan, Georgia, Iraq, Ukraine and other countries along with the US and other allies.

More

On Tuesday, 15 March, in Washington D.C., Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Gediminas Kirkilas will meet US Secretary of Defence Donald H. Rumsfeld to discuss international operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, NATO air police mission in the Baltic States and other issues. 

On Wednesday, 16 March, in Norfolk, the Minister is scheduled to meet Admiral Edmund Giambastiani, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, at NATO Allied Command Transformation.

More