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Lithuania - Personnel

Defence Minister Juozas Olekas said December 21, 2015 that he expects all 3,000 places for compulsory military service to be filled by volunteers in 2016. Almost all of the compulsory places were filled by the volunteers in 2015, far surpassing expectations, according to Olekas. “The fact that almost 3,000 volunteers have come or chose a priority position in the conscription list has really surpassed the expectations. But it has also raised new ambitions – now we would like to fill all those 3,000 places with volunteers," he said.

Lithuania said February 24, 2015 it would reinstate limited conscription later this year as a precautionary measure, given a new geopolitical situation. "The current geopolitical environment requires us to enhance and accelerate army recruitment," said a statement by President Dalia Grybauskaite’s office issued after an emergency meeting of the State Defense Council. The statement also said that “threats to the state's security” necessitate that “the country's defense capabilities need to be strengthened further." Once lawmakers sign off, starting in September some 3,000 men between the ages of 19 and 27 would be drafted to serve for a period of nine months.

The authorized strength of Lithuania’s Armed Forces in 2003 was 2,336 Officers, 981 Warrant Officers, 4,497 professional servicemen of other ranks, 4,500 conscripts, 430 cadets, and 9,000 Active reservists. This force totaled 21,744 servicemen.

Mandatory military conscription was scrapped in Lithuania in 2008 when the country decided to build a professional army.

Conscription is enshrined in Article 139 of the 1992 Constitution, which says: “Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania must perform military or alternative national defence service according to the procedure established by law”1. It was further regulated by the 1996 Law on National Conscription (1593/1996). The constitution calls for one year of compulsory military training or alternative service (for conscientious objectors). Conscription for defense forces started in December 1991. However, of the 20,000 annually eligible and legally obligated young men, only 6,000 were inducted in 1992. This rate was expected to continue. Women were not called to duty, and there were no plans for them to serve in the military.

On 13 March 2008, the Lithuanian Parliament passed a new law “On the Principles of Organisation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces”, which provides for parliament to set the number of conscripts to be recruited on a year by year basis, aiming to suspend conscription (a 'zero' quota). The Constitutional Court decided on 3 April 2009 that this procedure did not conflict with the Lithuanian constitution.

The National Defence System made the decision to abandon regular armed forces based on compulsory conscription, and replace it with a professional armed forces. Conscription was suspended on 15 September 2008, and the last conscripts left the Lithuanian Armed Forces on 01 July 2009. Previously, the individual [mobilization] reserve was mainly made of reserve soldiers after their compulsory military service. Compulsory military service of citizens is the most effective way for armed forces to ensure permanent re-staffing of the reserve with new members. If there are no troops who have completed compulsory basic military service, active reserve may be supplemented by with reservist professional soldiers and by expansion of the active reserve (by recruiting more volunteers).

When conscription was abandoned this source of renewing the reserve ran dry. On the other hand, the economic slowdown reduced the financial resources for covering contracts with candidates to join professional military service. Minister of National Defence Rasa Jukneviciene and the new Chief of Defence of Lithuania Gen. Maj. Arvydas Pocius hinted about the necessity to have a "mixed" type of armed service in Lithuania. Lithuanian media and society interpreted this as a suggestion to bring back compulsory recruitment.

The Law on Military Conscription of the New Wording of the Republic of Lithuania came into force on September 1, 2011, providing for a 12-week Basic Military Training conducted on a voluntary basis and for incentives for young people.

Citizens from 18 to 38 years old - men and women who have not completed the Compulsory Basic Military Service and have not acquired the Basic Military Training by other methods - are invited to join the Basic Military Training on a voluntary basis. However, the Law does allow for a mandatory conscription of 19-26 years old males at random order in case a sufficient number of voluntary conscripts have not turned out. The Basic Military Training is delivered at the Lithuanian Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment in Rukla. During the training conscripts are taught weapon handling, using communication devices, rendering first medical aid, elements of tactics, topography, military engineering, and military formation.

During the Basic Military Training period participants receive full state maintenance which includes feeding, lodging, clothing, social and life insurances, allowances for daily living needs, exemptions regarding central heating and other services for their family members. Graduates of the Basic Military Training are considered to have undergone the Compulsory Basic Military Service, a part of them sign professional military service contracts. Those who do not are drawn into the trained military personnel reserve list of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

Reimbursement of a part of their tuition fees paid, priority to the state financed study positions (the final decision about the competitive succession of the entrants who receive additional points is made by concrete educational institutions), subsidies for employment and placement (received by the employers who employ graduates of the Basic Military Service or whose employees complete the Compulsory Basic Military Service), priority in assuming public service positions (in case several candidates get an equal number of points), priority in entering professional educational institutions for statute public service and in seeking statute public service positions when no contest is required.

Ministry of National Defence resume junior staff officer training for the higher educational intuitions students and invites them to enter the selection to the training. Junior staff officer training is an opportunity for the students of higher educational institutions to acquire another, officer's, qualification within three years after their graduation from civilian educational institutions. The graduates of the training will benefit by acquiring one more qualification and a military rank, along with that they will fulfil the duty to their homeland - the Compulsory Basic Military Service, and will have the opportunity to join the Lithuanian Armed Forces and seek officer's career. The training takes three years: once a week higher educational institutions students will be studying warfare theory which they will apply in approximately two-week long field training held during their summer holidays. During the junior staff officer training the students will receive comprehensive maintenance. The junior staff officer training will be organised in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda.

The National Defence Volunteer Force (NDVF) is an active segment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces reserve ready to complete a wide range of tasks. Military volunteer service is discontinuous military service compatible with civil work or studies of the volunteer soldier. Military training events for volunteer soldiers take up from approximately 20 to 50 days per year. Exercises are usually held on weekends, however, various courses and longer training events may be held during workweek as well. Volunteer soldiers receive financial reimbursements of the time spent on service (i.e. a pay for the days spent on service is given which coincides with the salary paid for professional military service soldiers of equivalent ranks), costs related to the completion of service are discharged and social securities are granted.

On the basis of voluntary and selective principles citizens of the Republic of Lithuania between the age of 18 and 55 can enrol into the NDVF. Contract of a volunteer service cannot span less than 3 and more than 5 years. A person who signs the contract makes an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Lithuania. The contract may be extended once it expires. While conducting the service volunteer soldiers obtain a military qualification, participate in military exercises and multinational missions.

Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania up to 35 years old without previous conviction record who have completed the Compulsory Basic Military Service and the Basic Military Training, who have graduated from the Lithuanian Military Academy or serve in the NDVF are able to join the professional military service on the basis of voluntary and selective principles. The professional military service is joined via signing a professional military service contract. In case an aspirant has not completed the Compulsory Basic Military Service and has not acquired the required basic military training in any other way, he or she undergoes a trial period before being taken into service during which the aspirant undergoes the Basic Military Training Course.

There are two main types of reserve of the armed forces in Lithuania - the individual/mobilisation and active reserve. Individual reserve are reserve soldiers of obligatory basic or professional military service, active reserve are volunteer soldiers of National Defence Volunteer Force. Members of individual/mobilisation reserve are called in cases number of regular armed forces needs to be increased, like war or large scale natural or other disaster. Members of active reserve take part in exercises on a regular basis, they only withdraw from their civilian occupations for a weekend in a month, or even less often. The level of basic military preparation of volunteer soldiers is steadily sustained and renewed and their conscription procedures are relatively easy.