Dutch defmin, chief of defence to visit troops serving in Lithuania

Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten and Chief of Defense Admir al Rob Bauer will be escorted to the General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in Pabrade, eastern Lithuania, to meet with soldiers of the Netherlands serving as part of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group and currently training in Exercise Winter Wolf, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry said.

The Dutch delegation will also meet with Lithuania’s Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis and leadership of the Lithuanian Armed Forces to discuss the security situation in the Baltic region, new European Common Security and Defence Policy initiatives and bilateral Lithuania-Dutch defence cooperation.

According to the press release, the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group deployed in Lithuania since the beginning of 2017 for deterrence and defence includes roughly 250 Dutch service members with their own equipment and weaponry (around 40 items, such as CV 90 infantry fighting vehicles, Fennek reconnaissance vehicles, Boxer, armored recovery vehicles, etc.).

Also, a Dutch Air Force Detachment was deployed in Šiauliai, northern Lithuania, at the beginning of this year and carried out the NATO air-policing mission in the Baltic states with four F-16s.