Video (Sgt Spc 1st Class Lukas Kalvaitis)
The Ministry of National Defence and the NATO Force Integration Unit Vilnius are continuing the “NATO Day in the Region – Come, See, and Learn!” cycle of events carried out to mark the 70th anniversary of the NATO alliance and the 15th anniversary of Lithuania as a member of NATO celebrated this year, on October 3 residents of Rokiškis town were invited to meet with NATO soldiers.
“Communication with the people of Lithuania and working towards mutual goals is one of the key priorities of the work of the NATO Force Integration Unit Lithuania. Knowing people and terrain is critical to us, somebody who is charge of redeployment of NATO forces. We have visited almost half of the municipalities of Lithuania and presented our work over the four years of our activity,” Danish officer, Col Jakob Søgård Larsen, head of the NATO Force Integration Unit since the establishment of it in Lithuania in 2015, says.
Soldiers of the NATO Force Integration Unit and the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group, representatives of the U.S. CIMIC Cooperation Team, soldiers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion and the National Defence Volunteer Force Vytis Military District 5th Territorial Unit, members of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union came to meet with and to present their activities to the community of Rokiškis and members of the municipality.
Participants of NATO Day in the Region event in Rokiškis unveiled a monument built by the efforts of the community for the 15th Lithuania’s anniversary in NATO by the Obeliai Museum.
Lithuanian and allied soldiers present NATO organization and its activities in various regions of Lithuania at NATO Day events. First events of the cycle were held in Varėna and Merkinė on May 30 earlier this year. NATO troops will also visit Anykščiai, Biržai, and Kėdainiai this year. The five municipalities were selected from all the applications received in response to the invitation of the Ministry of National Defence to organise a NATO event in the region to commemorate the 70th NATO anniversary and the 15th Lithuania’s anniversary in NATO.
During NATO Days residents of different regions will not only be able to meet with soldiers, listen to lectures about the world’s strongest military Alliance and take part in discussions, but also to view weaponry, equipment and gear used by the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the NATO forward Presence Battalion Battle Group.
The NATO Force Integration Unit has been inaugurated in Lithuania in September 2015 and in operation since. Its mission is to ensure and facilitate a fluent and efficient deployment of the NATO Very High Readiness s Joint Task Force (VJTF), and other NATO units in Lithuania. NFIU tasks in Lithuania also include support to allied exercises and other assurance measures, contribution to Lithuania’s defence plans, and identification of infrastructure objects necessary for a rapid deployment of allied forces in Lithuania. During peacetime the NFIU staff is 40-strong and comprised by international and Lithuanian Armed Forces soldiers. The staff is currently provided by 14 NATO countries. The decision to establish NATO Force Integration Units in 8 member states — Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary — was taken by NATO Heads of States and Governments at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014.
POC: NFIU Lithuania officer Maj Marius Geležiūnas, [email protected], +370 659 10834
More photos at MoD Facebook account
Credits: NFIU Lithuania
