In Lithuania, Lieutenant Colonel Ruppelt assumed command from Lieutenant Colonel Hebisch of the 10th rotation of the multinational enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup. Germany is the framework nation of for the Battlegroup deployed to Lithuania that is comprised of soldiers from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Norway.

Members of the enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Estonia completed the Admiral Pitka Recon Challenge last week. The competition is an annual military race with teams from different countries competing against one another as they seek to safely navigate demanding terrain on foot as quickly as possible. Crossing 100 kilometres over four days, the event took place on the island of Saaremaa and, on this occasion, was won by a highly impressive Estonian team.

In Latvia, cadets from the Latvian National Defence Academy joined members of the Ādaži-stationed enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup deployed to that country to participate in a training exercise conducted by Italian soldiers. An annual summer camp is a core training event for cadets at the Riga-based National Defence Academy. This year, the Italian contingent was responsible for developing and executing an intensive training programme. Cadets were introduced to military procedures and processes used in NATO operations.
NATO has enhanced its presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, with four multinational Battlegroups that have been deployed to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. These Battlegroups, led by the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the United States respectively, are combat-ready and representative of the Alliance's commitment to Article V of the Washington Treaty. In other words their presence makes it clear that an attack against one Ally would be considered an attack against the whole Alliance.