At the ceremony Vice Minister of National Defence Marijus Velička presented to the outgoing Defence Attaché COL B. Brestrup the National Defence System Medal of Merit for the enhancement and development of defence cooperation between Norway and Lithuania.
The ceremony was also attended by First Secretary to the Embassy of Norway in Lithuania Ingrid Susanne Farner, representatives of the Ministry of National Defence and the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
COL L. Lie, the new Defence Attaché of Norway to Lithuania, graduated the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy (RNoAFA), the Royal Danish Defence College and the Norwegian Defence University College (NDUC). Throughout her military career COL L. Lie has gathered a great experience in logistics and personnel management, led Education as well as Military Enrolment and Manning Divisions of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. During her military service COL L. Lie was also deployed to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation in Afghanistan where she headed the main logistic provision team at Kabul International Airport. Immediately prior to the diplomatic appointment in Lithuania COL L. Lie was the head of the Air Education and Combat Training Command of the Royal Norwegian Air Force in Rygge (Norway).
Defence Attaché of Norway to Lithuania COL L. Lie will be based in Riga (Latvia).
Military personnel of Lithuania and Norway, particularly, special operations forces of both countries, cooperate in a spectrum of military exercises. Soldiers of the Norwegian Special Operations Forces train at Exercise Flaming Sword in Lithuania while Lithuanian personnel of the Special Operations Forces and the Lithuanian Land Force take part in Exercise Cold Response and Exercise Tundra in northern Norway.
On the basis of an agreement signed by Lithuania and Norway in 2006 Norway handed over to Lithuania RBS-70 short range air defence systems currently operated by the Air Defence Battalion of the Lithuanian Air Force.
Troops and aircraft of the Royal Norwegian Air Force were deployed to the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission twice (January-March 2005 and December 2007-March 2008).
