Lithuania Tribune
October 4, 2013
300 Lithuanian troops to take part in NATO exercises in Poland and Baltics
Around 300 Lithuanian troops will be deployed to various training locations in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania during the Steadfast Jazz 2013 exercises on 2-9 November 2013, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence.
The exercises will be characterised by the fact that various manoeuvres under real conditions will be conducted not only by joint staff but also by combat units of NATO member countries at various polygons.
“The Steadfast Jazz 2013 exercises will involve the NATO Response Force that would be the first to respond in case of a crisis and sent to a region to put the situation under control. It will be the first NATO exercises of such a scale since 2006,” the Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
“The NATO Response Force exercises will be the first NATO collective defence exercises in our region. They are a great proof that the Alliance is ready to defend the Baltic States and Poland from any threat,” Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas was quoted as saying in the statement.
In conjunction with the Steadfast Jazz 2013, the Baltic Host 2013 exercises will be conducted in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, aimed at testing the Baltic states’ readiness to provide Host Nation Support while receiving NATO allies in case of an emergency.
“Our troops and civilians from other ministries and institutions will ensure the ability to act together not n the regional scale but also in cooperation with all forces of the Alliance. It will considerably step up the Baltic states’ readiness to provide support for incoming allied forced,” Olekas said.
The Steadfast Jazz 2013 exercises will involve about 6,000 personnel from 20 NATO member countries and partner nation Ukraine. During the event, 3,000 staff personnel from Joint Force Command Brunssum and other allied joint staffs will take part in a command and control exercise at the Adazi Base, Latvia. In addition, 3,000 troops will be involved in a live exercise at Poland’s Drawsko Pomorskie Training area.
The exercises will involve air, land, maritime, and special operations forces.
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