, image = Insignia of the Lithuanian Special Operations Force.svg , image_size = 180px , caption = SOF insignia , dates = 1997–present , country = , allegiance = , branch =

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

, type =

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

, role =

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

operations, special missions (

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

special reconnaissance Special reconnaissance (SR) or Recon Team is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organizations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detect ...

, rescue of hostages, unconventional war and protection of VIPs) , size = ''Classified'' , command_structure =

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (wh ...

, garrison = , garrison_label = , nickname = "Žaliukai" ( like “forest / green brothers”); "Aitvaras" (named after a traditional Lithuanian mythological spirit; also translates to kite) , patron = , motto = , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles =

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

(2002-2015) (2018-2021)

EU Navfor Med Operation Sophia, formally European Union Naval Force Mediterranean (EU NAVFOR Med), was a military operation of the European Union that was established as a consequence of the April 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks with the aim of neutralising esta ...

(2017)

NATO Response Force The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness force comprising land, air, sea and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly. Until February 2022, when NATO activated it in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine,JAMES KITFIEL(1 ...

(2008- Present) , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , disbanded = , commander1 = , commander1_label = , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , commander3_label = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = Lithuanian Special Operation Force Flag

, identification_symbol_label = Flag , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = , identification_symbol_3 = , identification_symbol_3_label = , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_4_label = The Lithuanian Special Operations Force (LITHSOF) ( lt, Lietuvos Specialiųjų Operacijų Pajėgos) is a

special operation Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

unit of the

, formed exclusively of carefully selected, motivated and specially trained professionals. The main tasks of the Special Operations Force are counter terrorism,

, and hostage rescue. The Lithuanian Special Operations Force has been in operation ''de facto'' since 2002 and it was established ''de jure'' on April 3, 2008, when amendments of the National Defence System organisation and military service law came into force. SOF is formed from the Special Operations Unit.

Structure and tasks

The structure of the Lithuanian Special Operations Force is flexible which makes it easy to form squadrons intended for specific operations and missions from its elements. It consists of: *

Special Operations Force (SOP - ''Specialiųjų Operacijų Pajėgos'') in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion (VDJB - ''Vytauto Didžiojo jėgerių batalionas'') in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

. Main tasks:

, raids, ambushes, terrain blocking, fire support. ** Special Purpose Operations Service

Special Purpose Service (YPT - ''Ypatingosios paskirties tarnyba'') in Vilnius. Main tasks: counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, special operations on land, water and air. ** Kovinių narų tarnyba (KNT)

Combat Divers Service (KNT - ''Kovinių narų tarnyba'') in

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the Klaipėda County, eponymous county, it is List of cities in Lithuania, the third largest ...

. Main tasks: special operations in water, boarding operations, coastal reconnaissance, infiltration ashore, special underwater operations and support during hostage situations. The unit can be compared to the

United States Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...

or the British

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...

. **

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

Special Operations Element (SOG - ''Specialiųjų operacijų grandis'') (operationally subordinated to SOP) in

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...

. Main tasks: infiltration and exfiltration, patrolling and aerial reconnaissance, fire support, transporting and medical evacuation. ** Training and Combat Support Center (MKPC - ''Mokymo ir kovinės paramos centras'') in

. One of the main missions of the Lithuanian Special Operations Force is

operations beyond the territory of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

History

Establishment

Soon after Lithuania re-established its independence from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

on March 11, 1990, the need arose to form armed units. One of the first such units was ''Aukščiausiosios Tarybos Apsaugos Skyrius'' ("Supreme Council Security Section"). One of the main tasks of this unit was to protect the Lithuanian Parliament. In the following years, the

Lithuanian army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service ...

underwent various restructuring processes. After the reorganization of Kaunas Vytautas the Great motorized infantry battalion in 1995, the separate Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion (named after Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas the Great) was established, which would become one of the core units of Lithuanian Special Operations Force. Unofficial formation of the Special Purpose Service was started in 1995; after two more years the Service was officially established. After the 9/11 terror attacks, the main tasks of the Special Purpose Service became counter-terrorism, terrorist liquidation and hostage rescue. Members of the Special Purpose Service are called ''Žaliukai'', meaning green-men and were named after the

Forest Brothers The Guerrilla war in the Baltic states was an armed struggle which was waged by the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian partisans, called the Forest Brothers (also: the "Brothers of the Wood" and the "Forest Friars"; et, metsavennad, lv, me� ...

. After a 2007 reorganization, the Combat Divers Service (CDS) was established, whose main task became special underwater and surface operations. Among the most secretive Lithuanian Special Operations Force units are squadrons referred to by the codename '' Aitvaras'' (named after a traditional Lithuanian mythological spirit). The first public acknowledgment of the existence of ''Specialiųjų Operacijų Junginys'' (SOJ) ''"Aitvaras"'' (Special Operations Unit "Cockatrice") was in 2000, when Lithuanian sailors were captured in

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the w ...

. ''Aitvaras'' carries out classified missions.

Operational history

The Lithuanian Special Operations Force units have participated in a number of missions. From 2002 to 2004 squadrons of the ''Aitvaras'' were deployed to the "

Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

" operation in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Preparedness and execution of tasks by the SOF squadrons have been especially noted by the coalition partners. From 2005 to 2006, the Lithuanian Special Operations Force was on the operational half-year stand-by period in the

. Since the autumn 2007, SOF have taken part in the NATO-led

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

mission in southern Afghanistan. In 2008 soldiers of the SOF continued their service in the NATO Response Force. In 2017, Lithuanian government has made a decision to send 20 soldiers group to the mission in Medditeranian

including soldiers from navy forces, land forces and special operations forces. Lithuanian SOF are close friends and partners with US Navy Seals, US Marines, US Green Berets, US Army Rangers, Polish, Latvian, Estonian, German, French, British and Ukrainian SOFs. Alone and together with partners Lithuanian SOF participate in exercises and missions abroad and in Lithuania.

Gallery

File:Exfil (Image 1 of 5) 160519-A-CL980-403.jpg, Special Purpose Service board a U.S. Army helicopter during Exercise Flaming Sword 2016

References

;Specific ;General
Lithuanian Ministry of Defence site

External links

Video presentation of Lithuanian Special Operations Force

Video presentation of Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion
{{Authority control 2002 establishments in Lithuania Military units and formations established in 2002