{"id":788,"date":"2022-08-12T13:28:42","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T11:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/?p=788"},"modified":"2022-08-17T11:38:08","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T09:38:08","slug":"new-challenge-new-commander-at-efp-nato-in-rukla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/2022\/08\/12\/new-challenge-new-commander-at-efp-nato-in-rukla\/","title":{"rendered":"New challenge, new commander at eFP NATO in Rukla"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>An important ceremony took held in the NATO Military Base in Rukla<\/strong>, not far from Kaunas: <strong>the change of commander of the <a href=\"https:\/\/shape.nato.int\/efp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eFP (enhanced Forward Presence)<\/a><\/strong> of the Battle Group in Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WATCH OUR VIDEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NATO eFP Battle Group--Change of Commander in Rukla, New challenges-ITA transcription\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sQH8hE-yV_Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption><strong>Ceremony for the change of commander in Rukla at the eFP NATO miliatry base<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Every six months the multinational contingent changes its commander and its troops<\/strong>. New tasks for the Battle Group that <strong>is facing an historical and uncertain really demanding times after the war outbreak in Ukraine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Daniel Andr\u00e4, commander of the 11<sup>th<\/sup> rotation<\/strong>, that started at the beginning on February 2021, said: \u201c\u2026At the ninth of February <strong>when we took over command from our predecessor, the tensions between Russia and Ukraine where next to a threatening war already<\/strong>. More than 100.000 Russian soldiers were staged at the borders to Ukraine and so for 11th rotation the first task was to integrate more than 500 multinational soldiers and a lot of additional equipment immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The new commander Marco Maulbecker<\/strong>, also from Germany, at the press conference said: \u201c\u2026We integrated the reinforcements and the contingent crew to about 1700 soldiers and 800 vehicles, indeed a very busy time and also, I could only see it from a distance, I&#8217;m certain that 12th rotation has big shoes to fill\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1-eFP-Battle-Group-Rukla-Commemorative-Plaque-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1-eFP-Battle-Group-Rukla-Commemorative-Plaque-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1-eFP-Battle-Group-Rukla-Commemorative-Plaque-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1-eFP-Battle-Group-Rukla-Commemorative-Plaque-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1-eFP-Battle-Group-Rukla-Commemorative-Plaque-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/1-eFP-Battle-Group-Rukla-Commemorative-Plaque.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><strong>The eFP Battle Group was established in Rukla in 2017<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The multinational contingent in Rukla involves six different nations<\/strong>: Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Norway, and Czech Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"712\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3-Change-of-Commander-Medal-from-Lithuania-1024x712.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-791\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3-Change-of-Commander-Medal-from-Lithuania-1024x712.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3-Change-of-Commander-Medal-from-Lithuania-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3-Change-of-Commander-Medal-from-Lithuania-768x534.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3-Change-of-Commander-Medal-from-Lithuania-640x445.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/3-Change-of-Commander-Medal-from-Lithuania.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><strong>The Vice Minister of Defense of Lithuania, \u017dilvinas Tomkus, awarded a medal to the commander Andr\u00e4<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The ceremony took place at the training area inside the military base <strong>with the participation of the Vice Minister of Defense, \u017dilvinas Tomkus<\/strong> who awarded at the commander Andr\u00e4, the medal for the well work done in these last few months. There was also <strong>the Chief of Defence of Lithuania, Valdemaras Rup\u0161ys<\/strong>, who said that <strong>the contingent is growing not only as a number of troops but also as the number of military equipment<\/strong>. In Lithuania others German troops will come within next September. <strong>The Ministry of Defense of Lithuania is building new infrastructures and new military training areas<\/strong> to welcome new soldiers from abroad, most of them from Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/4-NATO-Rukla-New-Commander-1024x642.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-790\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/4-NATO-Rukla-New-Commander-1024x642.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/4-NATO-Rukla-New-Commander-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/4-NATO-Rukla-New-Commander-768x482.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/4-NATO-Rukla-New-Commander-640x402.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/4-NATO-Rukla-New-Commander.jpg 1417w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><strong>From the left: Andr\u00e9 Hastenrath, Daniel Andr\u00e4, and Marco Maulbecker<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The new commander is flanked by the German Senior National Representative, Andr\u00e9 Hastenrath<\/strong>: \u201c\u2026The idea behind this is that the Battle Group, and especially the commander, should be able and concentrate on his core mission\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<strong>\u2026We are an efficient force<\/strong> and have shown, as eleventh rotation, that we are capable and ready to carry out our different tasks\u201d, Andr\u00e4 said. And for the next one will be the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marco Maulbecker, the commander of the 12<sup>th<\/sup> rotation, said in his speech at the press conference: \u201cWe have already shown in exercises in Germany that we are completely ready. <strong>We are able to make a credible contribution to deterrence<\/strong> and we are also ready, should deterrence fail, <strong>if need be, to defend this area and the Baltic States<\/strong>. Which, of course, we all hope doesn\u2019t happen\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/2022\/08\/09\/nato-in-lithuania-interview-with-commander-efp-battle-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL ANDR\u00c4<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An important ceremony took held in the NATO Military Base in Rukla, not far from Kaunas: the change of commander of the eFP (enhanced Forward Presence) of the Battle Group in Lithuania. WATCH OUR VIDEO Every six months the multinational<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1],"tags":[145,13,11,120,91,144,98,119],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":793,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions\/793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lithuanianstories.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}