May 20, Defence Attaché of the UK to Lithuania Lt. Col. Mike Barker will be accredited at the Ministry of National Defence. He will replace Lt. Col. Lindsay Wilson who has completed his diplomatic service in Lithuania in the beginning of May.

Lt. Col. M. Barker will act as Defence Attaché to Lithuania and Latvia on a temporary basis till a new permanent Defence Attaché is appointed simultaneously with accreditation to Finland and Estonia.

Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Lithuania Simon Butt and representatives of MoND and the Armed Forces are expected to attend the accreditation.

First commissioning of the Acting Defence Attaché to Lithuania Lt. Col. M. Barker was into the British Army’s Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in 1977.

Lt. Col. M. Barker graduated from the Royal Military College of Science (BA in Mechanical

Engineering, and later – MA in Military Vehicle Technology). After MA studies Lt. Col. M. Barker undertook appointment to the Equipment Support Branch of the United Kingdom’s Land Command HQ at Wilton. A tree year tour in Kuwait followed (as project manager of the Desert Warrior Project and Deputy Programme Manager of the Kuwait Programme Office).

After the tour in Kuwait Lt. Col. M. Barker served at Directorate of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (Army), the he was commissioned as the Logistic Liaison Officer in the German Army’s HQ in Cologne, and then the German Armed Forces’ Support Command HQ in Cologne-Wahn during the German Armed Forces’ period of transformation 2002-2005.

After the tour in Germany Lt. Col. M. Barker worked in Sierra Leone as the Logistic Adviser and Equipment Procurement Officer to Republic of Sierra Leone’s Deputy Defence Minister in and International Military Advisory and Training Team.

Upon returning to Europe Lt. Col. M.Barker was appointed as the UK Defence Attaché to Finland and Estonia.

Military cooperation of Lithuania and the United Kingdom is based on the Memorandum of Understanding on liaison and defence cooperation signed by the Ministries of Defence of the countries in 1994. Ministries of Defence of Lithuania and the UK draft bilateral plans of defence cooperation on the annual basis.

Development of the Lithuanian military training system was significantly facilitated by the support offered by the UK (British military instructors provided consultation while forming the Great Hetman of Lithuania Jonusas Radvila Training Regiment, transforming Gen. J. Zemaitis Lithuanian Military Academy and Division General Stasys Rastikis NCO School, etc.), the United Kingdom was also the main Lithuania’s partner in planning and implementing the reform of defence management. Advisors of the UK continue consulting Lithuania on the issues of management of procurement and management of resources, defence planning, management and budget formation, reserve reform, and support projects of defence cooperation of the Baltic States.

In the end of 2004 and beginning of 2005 Air Contingent of the UK Air Force took part in the NATO Baltic Air-policing mission with four F3 „Tornado“ fighter-jets.