NATO Enhanced Forward Presence
Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) is a NATO-allied forward-deployed defense and deterrence military force in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
[1][2] Following Russia's invasion of Crimea, NATO's member states agreed at the 2016 Warsaw summit to forward deploy four multinational battalion battle groups to areas most likely to be attacked.
[3] The numbers involved, although a notable supplement to the armed forces of the country being defended, are limited so that they avoid seeming to threaten Russia.
[5] The troops serving in the multinational battalion battle groups rotate every six months and train and operate with their host nations' militaries.
[12] Three brigade HQ support personnel from the Royal Danish Army and 1 strategic communications civilian from the Icelandic defence forces have also been stationed in Estonia.
The United Kingdom under Operation Cabrit[14] deployed 800 personnel from the British Army's 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team: The British Army's 5th Battalion, The Rifles battlegroup, rotated back to the United Kingdom in November 2017 and was replaced by a battlegroup formed around the 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh.
Canada provides the core of the NATO battle group in Latvia with approximately 540 mechanized infantry and supporting troops.
Slovenia will deploy an Infantry reconnaissance platoon, Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) team, Contribution to battlegroup headquarters, Support elements of the Slovenian Armed Forces.
The force comprised around 600 soldiers and was equipped with standard Swedish armoured vehicles such as the CV 90 IFV and "Pansarterrängbil 360" APC.
The Lithuania multinational battalion battle group is under the command of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf of the Lithuanian Land Forces and based in Rukla.
[34] Support elements Support elements (15x Patria MV armoured vehicles, 4x multiple-launch rocket system 3x M-ATV mine-resistant vehicles) of Mechanized Guard Brigade[38] Armoured platoon with MBT complemented with MBTs and self-propelled artillery Mobility engineers, Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (incl.
[42] Some 200 soldiers from 5th Dragoon Regiment of the French Army have arrived to Rukla on 3 July 2020, staying there for 6 months until the end of December, with a hundred more administration and logistics personnel.
[43] The first German Army unit to deploy to Lithuania is the 122nd Mechanized Battalion of the 12th Armoured Brigade [de] of the 10th Panzer Division.
The Battle Group consists of a US combined-arms battalion, a Sabre Squadron from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, a Croatian rocket artillery battery, and an ADA company from the Romanian Army.
The Battle Group is attached to the Polish Army's 16th Mechanized Brigade and based in Orzysz located south of Kaliningrad Oblast and 120 kilometers away from the Suwałki Gap.
In June 2021, around 30 German soldiers were recalled from service in Lithuania after they were accused of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks and of sexual violence.
