Lithuania PM Praises Pennsylvania Partnership

Photo By Maj. Travis Mueller | U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, welcomes the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Ingrida Šimonytė, to Fort Indiantown Gap to tour the base and learn more about the Pennsylvania National Guard’s partnership with the Lithuanian Armed Forces.  

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, UNITED STATES

12.06.2022

Story by Capt. Travis Mueller 

Joint Force Headquarters - Pennsylvania National Guard

The Prime Minister of Lithuania, Ingrida Šimonytė, called the partnership between the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Lithuanian Armed Forces a “true friendship” during a visit here Dec. 5, 2022.

Šimonytė, as well as Lithuanian officials including Audra Plepytė, the Lithuanian ambassador to the U.S., received a quick tour of Fort Indiantown Gap and a briefing on the capabilities of the Pennsylvania NG.

Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, hosted the visit which included a flight in UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from soldiers with the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site. The visiting party received an aerial tour of the surrounding area and downtown Harrisburg.

Later in the day, Šimonytė and Schindler met with Governor Tom Wolf to discuss the mutually beneficial partnership the commonwealth shares with Lithuania.

The Pennsylvania National Guard has partnered with the country of Lithuania since 1993 as part of the National Guard's State Partnership Program. Through this security cooperation program, the PA NG has hosted Lithuanian personnel and participated in U.S. European Command, U.S. Army Europe and NATO exercises.

A Pennsylvania National Guard officer serves as the Bilateral Affairs Officer in Lithuania to coordinate security cooperation events for the PA NG, multiple other service components, the geographic combatant command and the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

• Date Taken: 12.06.2022
• Date Posted: 12.06.2022 10:12
• Story ID: 434592
• Location: FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US