Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, LANDCOM Commander, and Chief Warrant Officer Stephen Rice, LANDCOM's Senior Enlisted Leader, traveled to NATO's four enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) sites in August in order to assess the capabilities of the four Battle Groups, collect lessons learned and best practices, and determine how best LANDCOM can contribute to their success in the coming months.
As a part of NATO's strengthened deterrence and defence posture, Allies agreed at the 2016 Summit in Warsaw to enhance NATO's military presence along it's eastern flank. Fully deployed in June of 2017, the Battle Groups operate in concert with national home defence forces and are present at all times in their respective countries.
Battle Group Poland
The U.S.-led Battle Group in Poland, located near Orzysz, had it's first troops arrive in April 2017, and includes Soldiers from the U.S., the U.K., Romania and Poland.
Battle Group Lithuania
The German-led Battle Group in Lithuania, located near Rukla, had its advance party start to arrive in March 2017. It includes soldiers from Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and is scheduled to add soldiers from Croatia and France in 2018.
Battle Group Latvia
The Canadian-led Battle Group in Latvia, located outside the city of Riga at Camp Adazi, held a ceremony in June to mark the official standup of the unit. It includes soldiers from Canada, Albania, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Spain.
Battle Group Estonia
The U.K.-led Battle Group in Estonia, located near Tapa, began rotating personnel in April 2017 and includes soldiers from the U.K., France and Denmark. About 800 British personnel will rotate in and out on a continuous basis.