On July 15 a change of command ceremony and Land Force Day commemoration was held at the Lithuanian Land Force in the outer bailey of Trakai Island Castle. After three years in charge of the Lithuanian Land Force, Brigadier General Raimundas Vaikšnoras relinquished command and service colors to incoming Commander Brigadier General Artūras Radvilas.
Before the current appointment Brig Gen Artūras Radvilas held the position of Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Operation, his other prior duties include command of the Motorized Infantry Brigade Griffin, Lithuanian Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion, 15th rotation of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT-15) of Ghor, Afghanistan, as well as more command and staff positions across the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Brig Gen A. Radvilas joined the National Defence System in 1992. The officer is a General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania alumnus, graduate of operational level courses at the Baltic Defence College in Estonia and strategic level courses at the U.S. Army War College. His merit, resourcefulness and diligent service have been recognized with Lithuanian Armed Forces and National Defence System medals, Order of the Cross of Vytis and Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Cross of Vytis.
During the ceremony for Land Force Day, service members selected by a commission were recognized as best Land Force personnel of 2022 for their individual achievement, leadership, military readiness, results achieved in training subordinate personnel, motivation and extra tasks.
The change of command ceremony and Land Force commemoration was attended by Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas, Chief of Defence Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys, commanders of services and units, foreign defence attachés, chief executives of organisations and other guests.
The solemn parade was formed by Land Force platoons, unit commanders, sergeant majors, troops representing combat colors and historical uniform replicas, cannon salute teams, and groups delegated by the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group, 1st Battalion of the U.S. Army 66th Armor Regiment and the Marine Corps of Portugal.
Info credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces, photo credits: Sgt Spc 1st Class Ieva Budzeikaitė
