August 10, hand over-take over of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence mission ceremony took place at the Lithuanian Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment. Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys and Vice Minister of National Defence Žilvinas Tomkus underscored welcoming the Allies that the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group Lithuania was a pillar of deterrence, security and stability in the region.
The new rotation will serve under command of Lt Col Marco Maulbecker of the Bundeswehr. He took over from Lt Col Daniel Andrä, German commander of the preceding rotation that deployed in February.
“Today we are turning a new page for the NATO enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania and at the same time we are further honoring the vital NATO commitments. The enhanced Forward Presence Battalion is an excellent proof that NATO works: it deploys, assembles and trains were it is needed the most. In the changing security environment, the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Lithuania has not only grown in troop number but in capabilities deployed. Therefore today I am able to state that the Lithuanian military are backed by Allied colleagues, stronger than ever and ready to counter any threat,” said Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys.
According to Vice Minister Žilvinas Tomkus, the year has been far from ordinary. The brutal and cynical Russia’s war against Ukraine has demonstrated how fragile our security is – and highlighted how critical a strong allied commitment to Lithuania’s defence is. “The NATO enhanced Forward Presence demonstrates an unbreakable NATO resolve and an unwavering commitment to the collective defence of the Allies, the cornerstone of NATO. We will continue strengthening our unity alongside the Allies as we ensure peace and stability in the Baltic region and beyond,” said Vice Minister Ž. Tomkus.
The incoming NATO eFP Commander Lt Col M. Maulbecker underscored that his rotation had undergone a long pre-deployment training before arriving to Rukla and was completely up to the task. “We will deter, and if necessary, we will defend the territory of Lithuania,” he reiterated.
NATO eFP Lithuania
Following suit of the previous rotation, the incoming one is enhanced as the present security situation requires: approx. 1.6 thousand allied troops will be serving in Lithuania at Rukla with Leopard tanks, CV90, Marder and Boxer infantry fighting vehicles.
The most numerous contingent in the 12th rotation Battle Group and the commander are provided by framework nation Germany, other contributing nations are the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg. A regular NATO eFP is approx. 1.2 thousand-strong, however, as the Russian aggression against Ukraine has changed the security situation, Germany has added more troops and additional military equipment to what was already deployed in Lithuania this year.
Since it was deployed, the NATO eFP BG has been manned by over 16 thousand troops from nine NATO member states (Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Croatia, Luxembourg and Iceland) in six-month consecutive rotations.
NATO commitments
NATO Heads of State took the decision to deploy NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Groups in the Baltic states and Poland at the NATO Summit in Warsaw in 2016. The high-readiness multinational combat capabilities is a substantial and enduring contribution of the Allies to a better security of the region. Military personnel deployed with the NATO eFP BG to Lithuania are intensely training on a continuous basis, attending major exercise sin Lithuanian integrated into the Mechanized Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf thus improving interoperability with Lithuanian troops.
The Allies agreed at the NATO Summit in Madrid in June to strengthen the defence of the eastern Allies in substance: by enhancing NATO presence in the region, by pre-positioning of equipment and higher readiness of the troops. It was agreed to increase the NATO eFP Battalion Battle Groups to the size of brigades. Lithuania aims to have the German-led brigade deployed in Lithuania in the future and is developing the corresponding infrastructure. The forward C2 element of the German brigade will be soon deployed in Lithuania.
Photo credits: Sgt 1st Class Arnas Čemerka
