VILNIUS, Lithuania – The eighth annual NATO military exercise called Saber Strike kicked off during a ceremony held in Vilnius June 3, 2018.
Saber Strike 18 is a multinational exercise scheduled to run June 3-15 and will include participants from 19 countries. Among the goals of the NATO exercise are the demonstration of the NATO alliance’s capabilities and to enhance existing relationships between participants.
“No nation can confront the world alone, alliances are welcome and necessary,” said Brig. Gen. Richard Coffman, commander of the U.S Army mission command element and the deputy commander of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. “To realize a strong military alliance, you must train as one and Saber Strike allows (us) to accomplish this goal.”
Lithuanian army Lt. Col. Mindaugas Petkevicius, deputy commander of the NATO Force Integration Unit, said thousands of troops will train in Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia during the next two weeks. He said the people of Lithuania are pleased to host the exercise.
“They (the people of Lithuania) accept NATO, they are supportive of their own military and our multinational partners’ militaries, and (they) support the exercise as well,” said Petkevicius.
In addition to testing on-the-ground activities for troops, such as convoy movements and helicopter insertions, the exercise will also train participants on the command and control of forces and logistics management.