Largest deployment of marines in 50 years
A group of 170 Portuguese marines, accompanied by a five-strong medical team and two dogs, is leaving today for a NATO mission in Lithuania. It is the largest deployment of marines abroad in the last 50 years, informs the Navy.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Navy said that the marines will be stationed in Klaipeda, which is considered Lithuania’s main port city, in the context of NATO’s so-called “assurance measures”.
“These measures, implemented following the annexation of the Crimea region in 2014, aim to deter potential threats by increasing the allied military presence and carrying out combined exercises,” said the statement.
Commanded by Marine Lieutenant Hugo Pinheiro dos Santos, the Portuguese mission is capable of special operations, amphibious, boarding, combat diving, and explosive deactivation.
According to the Navy, NATO’s “reassurance measures” are intended to “strengthen the collective security of member states, particularly those located on the eastern border of the Atlantic Alliance”.
The mission is scheduled to last around three and a half months.
Source: LUSA
