The Lithuanian army: A tool for re-joining Europe
ENLithuania, a small country of roughly 3.5 million people on the shores of the Baltic Sea, emerged from the dark night of Soviet occupation in August 1993. It was then that the last Russian troops left the country. By then the Soviet Union no longer existed and Lithuania had already inaugurated the renewal of its independence two years before, ending a bitter half century in the nation's history. The Russian troops' withdrawal, no matter howwelcome, created a security vacuum in this small country. The Lithuanians were faced with the task of providing for their own defence and security forthe first time in nearly 50 years. From the beginning, Lithuania has had to choose between two opposing, though not mutually exclusive, approaches to providing for its own defense. The first approach entails the creation of an armed forces structure capableof defending the country from external attack and maintaining internalorder. The other approach involves developing relationships with neighborsand allies, grounded in enduring institutions, to create a 'web' of security inwhich the country can develop and prosper. During the first two years of Lithuania's most recent period of independence, the first approach prevailed. Urgent needs for border control, police forces and the necessity to lay the foundations for later defense structures imposed their priorities on decision makers. This was the period during which the current structure of the armed forces of Lithuania (henceforth, 'the Lithuanian army') was developed.Soon, however, the second approach came to the fore. Lithuanian leaders soon recognized that their nation's own meager resources would be insufficient to properly provide for the degree of security they sought. Moreover, Lithuanians decided that only membership in strong western institutions such as NATO and the European Union (EU) would serve toprotect their national interests. Lithuanians have essentially chosen security, broadly defined, rather than a narrower conception of military defense. This has meant a very specific role for the Lithuanian Army. Rather than being primarily adefensive military force, the Lithuanian Army is first and foremost a tool ofintegration. The primary mission of the Lithuanian armed forces is to assistthe nation in assimilating it self into western political, economic and military institutions. This is the key to understanding the structure, activities and priorities of this nation's armed forces. Lithuania is some what further down the road of integration than the other two Baltic countries, Latvia and Estonia. Never the less, it provides a good case study for understanding the security structures of all three of these states. This article examines the mission, organization and activities of the Lithuanian Army. First it will examine the strategic environment in which Lithuania finds it self. Then it will examine the overall structure of this country's army and the key activities it has under taken. It will show howdramatically the Lithuanian leadership has stressed the role of the armed forces as a tool of integration, and especially how it has de-emphasized atraditional defensive role for its armed forces. Hopefully this article willprovide the western reader with a greater understanding of how this country's small armed forces may contribute to western European and north Atlantic security.
