Lithuanian army invites 10,000 reserve soldiers for training

Over 10,000 active reserve soldiers will receive their call-up notices for training in April and May, the military said Tuesday. More than 2,500 cadets are expected to be called up to the spring exercise Thunder Storm 2024, the largest national exercise organised since Lithuania regained its independence.

The national exercise will be unique due to its complex, massive and realistic nature, the army said in a statement. It will bring together the Strategic Command, the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, consisting of representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), the Public Security Service (VST) and the Dignitary Protection Service (VAT), and the tactical commands –command elements of the division and brigades.

Thunder Storm 2024 will take place in the context of NATO exercises with allied forces from Poland, Germany and the United States. The exercise will train the total defence of the country in light of the existing defence plans. The participants will include more than 4,000 soldiers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, as well as representatives of the Riflemen’s Union and the local government.

The Thunder Storm 2024 exercise is aimed at coordinating the efforts of the Armed Forces, state institutions, local governments and, to some extent, citizens keen to engage in the defence of the state, and to channel them in the right direction.