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NEWS | Jan. 8, 2025

Lithuanian Chief of Defense visits Hawaii

By Petty Officer 1st Class John Bellino, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd, deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, hosts Lithuanian Chief of Defence Gen. Raimundas Vaikšnoras at USINDOPACOM headquarters on Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii, Jan. 7, 2025.

Vaikšnoras assumed his role in July 2024 and has demonstrated a desire to enhance U.S.-Lithuanian communication and cooperation in combating threats across the Indo-Pacific region.

The visit to Hawaii builds upon Vaikšnoras’ meeting with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. at the Pentagon in Sept. 2024, where they discussed Baltic regional security, Lithuania’s defense modernization programs and U.S. force posture.

After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, Lithuania has been committed to promoting democratic principles at home and abroad as a NATO Ally and European Union member.

USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, fighting to win.

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