Photo By Sgt. Max Elliott | U.S. Army Sgt. Danielle Pondel, a team leader assigned to the 603rd Military Police...... read more read more
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KAUNAS, Lithuania — The helmet was three sizes too big, and the little girl grinned anyway.
All day, a line of Lithuanian families filed past a sand-colored Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected All-Terrain Vehicle parked at the Kaunas Air Show on July 25, crowding around the truck for photos and trying on helmets that slid down over small faces. The truck, an American flag draped across its flank, belonged to the 603rd Military Police Company, the only U.S. military unit on display among the Lithuanian Armed Forces and other forces at the show.
"We're showing off our M-ATV, mounted with the Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun, communicating and hanging out with the Lithuanian community, just showing off who we are and what we have," said Sgt. Easton Spears, a team leader with the company.
For the Soldiers of the 603rd, the day was a departure from the job that brought them to Lithuania. The Soldiers at the air show are stationed at Pabradė Training Area, where they do the law-and-order and force-protection work of military policing that keeps a base running. At Kaunas, the mission was simpler: shake hands, answer questions, and let a curious kid try on a helmet.
"It's important so they know they can trust us, and know who we are and why we're here," Spears said.
That trust was the whole point of standing in a parking lot for a day instead of on a range. Being the lone American unit at the show meant the crowd's impression of the U.S. Army, for many of the people who stopped by, would be built entirely on the handful of Soldiers standing next to the truck.
"It basically just shows face," Spears said. "Shows that we support their country and who they are."
The interest rarely let up. Families crowded in for photos beside the truck. Teenagers posed for thumbs-up shots in front of the flag. First Lt. Conner Barrett, a platoon leader, spent stretches of the afternoon walking visitors through the gear his Soldiers carry, from a Combat Application Tourniquet to the weight of an Improved Outer Tactical Vest, the armored plate carrier a Soldier wears in combat.
The truck itself was a draw all on its own, and Spears clearly enjoyed showing it off.
"The M-ATV is cool because obviously it's large, it's very heavy, it's mine-resistant," Spears said. "Most of the kids aren't even bigger than the tire."
By his own count, the best moments of the day had nothing to do with the vehicle at all.
"My favorite moment was probably taking the pictures with the kids and seeing them smile," Spears said.
If the vehicle pulled visitors in, the Soldiers were what they remembered. Sgt. Danielle Pondel, a team leader with the company, spent much of the day crouched beside children, settling oversized helmets onto their heads for photos.
"This type of interaction is important to help America build relationships with Lithuania and get to know the people of the country," Pondel said.
For Pondel, the response from the crowd carried a meaning of its own. The 603rd is partway through a rotation in Lithuania, and a steady line of families turning out to meet them said something about how that presence is received.
"It's nice to know that we have their support out here in this country," she said.
Events like the Kaunas show are small pieces of a larger picture. U.S. forces have rotated through the Baltic region for years, training alongside Lithuanian and other NATO forces as part of the alliance's presence on its eastern flank. Most of that work happens on ranges, out of public view. A day at an air show puts a face on it.
For Pondel, that face came with a sense of pride. Eight years into her Army career and a long way from her native Chicago, she found something meaningful in a photo with a kid in an oversized helmet.
Pondel smiled. "It makes me feel proud of my service," she said.
V Corps is the U.S. Army's only forward-deployed corps, serving as the senior tactical headquarters for Army forces in Eastern Europe to deter conflict and provide combat-ready forces alongside our NATO Allies. V Corps is operationalizing and expanding the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative with Allies, rapidly integrating emerging technologies into training and tactical plans.
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.27.2026 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 570777 |
| Location: | KAUNAS, LT |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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