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PALANGA, Lithuania – U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldiers from Charlie Company, 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion, V Corps, in support of Task Force Pegasus, along with over 200 Lithuanian and NATO troops, participated in Confidence 2024, the largest civil-military non-kinetic exercise held by the Lithuanian Armed Forces in Western Lithuania from Dec. 6 to 13, 2024.
Confidence 2024 is the largest exercise in which the Lithuanian Armed Forces operated a Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC). U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldiers participated as observers and evaluators, working alongside Lithuanian and NATO Civil-Military Cooperation Teams and in the CMOC to strengthen civil-military interoperability and train CIMIC teams to operate in the civilian environments meeting with community leaders.
“A lot of the focus right now is interoperability, and this exercise has been awesome for us to sort of test our standard operating procedures and also see how other NATO countries conduct theirs,” said U.S. Army Capt. Ryan Farrell, a civil affairs officer with Charlie Company, 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion.
CIMIC teams dispersed across the region meet with key leaders from municipality governments, hospitals, fire and rescue services, law enforcement, utility companies and nongovernmental organizations. During the meetings, they would learn about the organization, resources and value to the civilian population. This effort identifies and aligns civilian resources for military planners by the CMOC.
“For the civilian population, it helps to see that a military is present,” said Lithuanian National Defense Voluntary Forces Pvt. Dominykas Makstutis, a CIMIC team member, “Listening to the civil population, how we could help them, and how the civil population could help us in a case of emergency.”
CMOCs are critical for integrating and coordinating efforts between military forces, civilian organizations, and local populations during times of crisis. Operated by Lithuanian CIMIC personnel, U.S. Army Civil Affairs soldiers observed and evaluated the Lithuanian CMOC operations and compared them with U.S. procedures to look for opportunities for collaboration and to develop better solutions to streamline civil-military operations.
“I've been asked to be an observer for this exercise. Essentially, I'm going over with the Lithuanians, some of their products, comparing them to ours,” said Farrel. “We would be able to create new standard operating procedures based off of this and also be able to communicate to better the maneuverability and mobility for some of the other units that we'll be working with in case of a real-life situation.”
The experience highlights how continuous training and adaptability prepare participants for new challenges, aligning military and civilian efforts for future missions.
The exercise not only strengthens operational procedures but also builds lasting partnerships among NATO allies. With valuable lessons learned and new strategies developed, the collaborative efforts demonstrate a shared commitment to maintaining security and stability in the region.
| Date Taken: | 12.14.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.19.2024 05:56 |
| Story ID: | 487815 |
| Location: | LT |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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