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The Pennsylvania National Guard has been supporting Lithuania's Western approach to warfare for 30 years, says D. Šakalienė

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2025-08-12
International cooperation | Security and defense policy

Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė met with Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, Commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard (PANG) Major General John Pippy. They focussed on strengthening the Lithuanian-U.S. defence cooperation and continuity of strategic projects among other things at the meeting.

"The PANG has supported us in forming a Western approach to the military for three decades. An approach which builds on trust in your soldiers, caring and ensuring opportunity for your military personnel, developing the technological edge. Our partnership covers nearly every area: from training Black Hawk pilots, formation of the Lithuanian national division, strengthening cyber defence, and developing medical capabilities to joint training and exercises. I would like to extend a special thanks to PANG Commander Major General John R. Pippy for strengthening our partnership, we appreciate seeing PANG military personnel on training in Lithuania," says Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė.

Minister pointed out that the current security situation was challenging to find new ways of cooperation on drone and drone jamming operations through sharing experience and learning from each other. It was addressed by agreeing on developing cooperation in drone and drone jamming equipment area, particularly focusing on drone operator training and experience exchange.

The partnership between Lithuania and the PANG encompasses a wide spectrum of areas, from developing the Lithuanian national division, to training Black Hawk pilots and maintenance personnel, joint training and exercises, as well as discussion on potential experience exchange in the area of crises management.

At the meeting Minister expressed hope on further PANG support to Lithuania in developing the Lithuanian 1st Division HQ and invited Commander of the 28th Infantry Division to become the Mentor to the 1st Division Commander during Exercise Avenger Triad this autumn, as well as to support the Lithuanian national 1st Division at Exercise Warfighter for certification of its operational capacity.

Other topics discussed were joint projects in cyber security and de fence, including the joint activities conducted by the U.S. and Lithuanian cyber capabilities to ensure protection of key networks from cyber threats.

Minister encouraged the PANG to become involved in multinational cyber exercises, such as Exercise Cyber Mist in November with EU, NATO and the Indo-Pacific partners in Vilnius, more actively.

The Pennsylvania National Guard has been maintaining State Partnership with Lithuania since 1993. The United States consistently supports our military capability development and rotates heavy battalions deployed in Lithuania on a persistent presence basis since 2019. The U.S. battalion in Lithuania has been reinforced with an additional artillery unit since 2022. The U.S. military presence in Lithuania is a critical deterrence and security guarantee for the Baltic states.

Lithuania provides highest level Host Nation Support to the U.S. troops on the ground and invests in modern infrastructure. Over USD 200 million has already been committed to that end. New infrastructure and campuses for the U.S. troops are planned to be unveiled this autumn.

Further in her visit, Minister D. Šakalienė will also see Chief of the National Guard Bureau General Steven Nordhaus, representatives of U.S. defence industry and AI companies and tour some of the U.S. military units.