US to step up military presence in Baltics

The United States is set to further step up its military presence in the Baltic states and change the status of US forces in Lithuania to “a persistent rotational presence”, the US Embassy in Vilnius said on December 7.

“US Ambassador Robert Gilchrist informed Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas that, as part of the ongoing commitment to its Baltic Allies, the United States will further enhance the continuous and persistent US military presence in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,” the embassy wrote in a press release, LRT reports.

“In Lithuania, this initially includes transitioning the episodic deployments of an armoured battalion-sized element and field artillery battery to a persistent rotational presence,” it added.

The US battalion has been deployed at the Pabradė training area close to Vilnius since 2019, with longer or shorter breaks between rotations.

At the NATO Summit in Madrid, President Biden committed to enhanced rotational deployments and a heel-to-toe presence of US forces in the Baltic region, the embassy said.

“As President Biden has said, we are committed to defending every inch of NATO territory. These US deployments demonstrate this commitment, and while we continue to adapt our force posture in the region, we are committed to maintaining a persistent, heel-to-toe presence in the region and intensifying training with our Baltic Allies to maintain combat credible capabilities and to enhance our defence and deterrence posture,” the US ambassador was quoted in the press release.