The Pabradė training ground is currently home to a U.S. armored battalion with Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles from Kansas. The battalion of more than 400 soldiers replaces an outgoing U.S. battalion stationed in Lithuania from December 2020.
“We are delighted to see the fourth battalion of U.S. troops in Lithuania. We are especially glad about its non-stop deployment and continuous rotation. This is our security guarantor and priority. We are very grateful to the United States of America for its military presence which is an indispensable deterrent,” the President said.
The new Camp Herkus for American soldiers, opened in Pabradė, contains over 200 accommodation containers, transport areas, service and catering facilities. The overall sum of the project amounts to 7 million euros.
According to the President, Lithuania’s priority is to create a permanent home for U.S. forces in Lithuania and to provide them with adequate infrastructure, which is why investments will be made to build a new training ground in Lithuania.
“The new training ground will create conditions to seek and maintain a permanent presence of U.S. troops in Lithuania and will also ensure long-term investment by NATO’s forward presence battlegroup and other foreign military units deployed to Lithuania, including joint training of Lithuanian and allied troops. We will make strategic decisions on the establishment and development of new training grounds at the next meeting of the State Defense Council,” the President said.
According to Gitanas Nausėda, Lithuania plans to continue active cooperation with the United States in capacity building. There are plans to purchase military equipment and ammunition worth more than 500 million dollars from the United States over the next five year.
