From Lithuania...

Brigadier General Jonas Kronkaitis on
Lithuania's Military Defense:
Objectives, Priorities and Accomplishments

Brigadier General Jonas Kronkaitis, a Lithuanian American, is currently the Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

Integrating Lithuania's defense establishment into the Euro Atlantic Community was the focus of Brig. Gen. Kronkaitis's presentation to the Baltic Assembly Conference in Vilnius on September 28th, 1999.

Brig. Gen. Kronkaitis and his wife in Lithuania. Photo: Alfredas Pladys

The objectives of the Lithuanian National Security Policy are to strengthen democracy, create favorable conditions for economic growth, and to diminish threats to the individual and the state. I do not need to tell you that membership in NATO is the most obvious and realistic route to achieve that objective.

Tragic events preceding World War II reduced Lithuania’s population by a third. Even today, there still are people who express surprise that the most brutal acts directed at Lithuania were not during or subsequent to World War II, but preceding it: a consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.

A hard lesson has been learned. If Lithuania’s statehood is threatened again; we will defend ourselves, with or without the support of our friends. The key principle of Lithuania's defense policy is the concept of “total and unconditional defense” based on deterrence by non-military and military means. The goal of the defense policy is to prepare the society and the armed forces for general defense and to integrate Lithuania into Western defense structures.

I will tell you how we are preparing for general defense in a moment, but first I must tell you that in parallel we are proactive in our efforts to integrate into the Western structures. Our military unit participates in Bosnia peacekeeping operations within a Danish force in support of NATO missions there. A medical team, with two military ambulances, participates in humanitarian missions within a Czech hospital in Albania, and just a few days ago we dispatched a ranger platoon to Kosovo to participate in peacekeeping operations within a Polish battalion. We have been very active in the Partnership for Peace Program.

Our shared values of democracy and corresponding hopes for the welfare of our people make it natural that we would seek to integrate into NATO. We believe that membership in NATO is not only the most effective means to safeguard our values, but to prevent conflicts as well because NATO is founded on the principle of collective defense and has developed a capacity for crisis management and peace support operations.

The decision to aim for NATO membership has political advantages for the region and implications for our internal decisions in building our defense capability. First let me mention three important political advantages:

1. The accession of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia to the Alliance will enlarge the area of stability in Europe and will eliminate the gray zone, or a region for temptations, and it threatens no one.

2. Integration into NATO helps to guarantee political stability and provides confidence for economic development for young democracies such as Lithuania.

3. Even the anticipation of NATO membership has improved relations among neighbors. For instance: since 1993, significant progress has been made in the Polish-Lithuanian relationship. Poland and Lithuania now view each other as strategic partners, and we have started to forge a long-term relationship by creating a combined Lithuanian-Polish Battalion. Lithuanian and Polish soldiers train together. Only last week we concluded a very successful exercise here in Lithuania in which troops from Poland, Denmark, Rumania, and Germany participated.

Let me mention a few military benefits Lithuania has to offer to NATO:

1. The country and its military is committed to democratic ideals and determined to defend them. There should be no doubt left in the mind of any potential aggressor that Lithuanians will defend Lithuania.

2. An ice-free seaport, a good road net work, excellent east-west, north-south highways abound.

3. Strategic air bases -- one of our bases has two runways over 3 km long. It was built for soviet AWACS and their space shuttle. NATO AWACS have already landed there once. There are two other air bases with strategic potential.

4. Lithuania was chosen to build the Regional Air Surveillance Coordination Center. When completed next year, it will have the capability to provide information to other countries as well as the NATO Allied Early Warning System.

We are creating an armed force based on a Western model, which can be integrated into NATO and also function independently if we must defend alone. In effect, we have a dual military defense strategy, one of which includes non-conventional warfare. By law, passed on 5 May 1998, The President and the Minister of Defense, together, constitute the National Command Authority and have the operational control of the armed forces. The parliament exercises control through the budget and the law. The Minister of Defense and his vice ministers by law are civilians, and the Commander of the Armed Forces is subordinate to the Minister.

In order to optimize command and control of combat units, strengthen their combat potential, reduce their response time to contingencies, and improve interoperability with NATO command structures and operational procedures, a Unified Command concept is being adopted. A Territorial Defense Structure was created with three military regions to assure independent capability to accomplish combat assignments. This territorial defense structure provides a good framework for flexible defense. It facilitates the integration of the National Defense Volunteer Force into the overall Military Defense Strategy as a component of a single force. Most importantly, the Regional concept provides for non-conventional warfare through the regional headquarters

Lithuania has made significant progress in the development of infrastructure by establishing a clear and effective chain of command; formalizing the planning, programming and budgeting process; improving military training; acquiring badly-needed military material; and improving the quality of life for our soldiers and officers.

Now, I would like to turn to our efforts at building military capability. Training and education of soldiers and officers to assume their responsibilities are critical components of military preparedness. Therefore, we have established a Training and Doctrine Command which assumed the responsibility of planning, organizing, and coordinating all aspects of military education and training to assure that rescues [rescue exercises] are most effectively used to produce highly qualified officers and soldiers.

A Basic Training Center has been constructed and became operational this April. Young Lithuanian instructors trained in Western leadership doctrine now train Lithuanian recruits. Officers and noncommissioned officers from United Kingdom have trained 105 instructors in Western doctrine and training techniques. We consider the basic training center a milestone and a turning point in the Lithuanian armed forces since it represents a clear break with the past.

Institution building would be very difficult without the assistance of partner countries. Danish and British officers have been providing training on a continuous basis for our officers in Western leadership principles, and just recently the British assumed major responsibility to assist in training our cadets at the Military Academy. The first class of cadets completed the leadership phase of a course conducted by British officers and NCO’s very successfully last fall. It was a turning point in the training of our officers. In one week [first week of October] a second group of first-year classmen will finish the same type of training conducted by the British, and next year our own instructors will take over the job.

We place great emphasis on the education of our officers. We have officers who have graduated from the United States Military Command and General Staff Colleges, and presently we have four cadets in United States military academies. Our officers have graduated from the French, as well as German Command and Staff Colleges. Many of our Navy personnel attend military schools in Sweden and Denmark. Over 500 of our military personnel have attended extended term schools out of country.

Recently, the Baltic Defense College in Tartu, Estonia has started to train our officers for mid-level staff assignments. Not only will it provide good training, but also it will enhance Baltic interoperability since students and instructors come from Baltic Sea countries. We recognize the importance of the English language for our military and have established ten English language labs throughout the country. All of our Military Academy cadets are required to take English and may take French and German as a second foreign language.

This year, our focus is on the noncommissioned officer (NCO). As any military officer knows, a good NCO corps is the foundation and the glue of a good military force. United States military helped us to establish our Noncommissioned Officer School. It is an excellent school, but we need to do much more than provide good training. We must give the NCOs more authority and responsibility.

Next month [October]I will appoint the Command Sergeant Major of the Armed forces. He, with the help of a Noncommissioned Officer Council, will advise me on matters essential to enhance the respect and authority of this very important segment of our armed forces.

As we produce qualified Officers and NCOs, we are increasing the number of conscripts we induct into the armed forces. From 2,300 in 1996, we will grow to 7,700 in the year 2001.

Our ten-year projection of Officers, professional soldiers, and conscripts in our combat units will reach 23,000 by the year 2008. This does not include the National Defense Volunteer force of approximately 15,000 or the active reserve. Conscripts will constitute approximately 48 percent of the force. We need conscripts to build a large active reserve force, which by 2008 will reach 50,000.

The State Defense Council, which is chaired by the President and includes the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Parliament as members, has made a commitment to a credible defense force by allocating 1.5 percent of the GDP in 1999 to the defense budget. This is to reach the level of 2 percent by year 2001. The parliament, our Seimas, has enacted this commitment for defense into law.

Lithuania has developed an attainable plan to create a credible defense capability; the plan is resources-supported and it is being implemented. Lithuania is building a defense force to protect Lithuania. Defense of our sovereignty is unconditional. We are building a force that can integrate easily into NATO military structure. When we are accepted into the North Atlantic Defense Alliance, we will do our share and live up to the responsibilities of a member state. In fact, we are helping NATO carry its burden today.