General Raimundas Vaikšnoras (; born 12 July 1970) is a Lithuanian military officer and general, currently serving as the 7th Chief of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania since 24 July 2024. General Vaikšnoras has been recognized with several awards, including the Commemorative Badge to Mark Russian Troops Withdrawal from Lithuania, the Medal of the Founding Volunteers of the

Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuan ...

, and the Honor Badge “ Iron Wolf.” He is also a member of the Union of Founding Volunteers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

Biography

In 2002, he graduated from the

General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania The General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania (''Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija'') is a state-sponsored institution of higher learning based in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was founded in 1994 by the Lithuanian Seimas, and ...

, receiving a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Public Administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

. In 2013, he graduated from the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

, receiving a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Strategic Defense Studies. On 11 March 1990, he took the

military oath A military oath, also known as the oath of enlistment or swearing-in is an oath delivered by a conscript or volunteer upon enlisting into the state's armed forces. Various states have different phrasings of the oath, with the common component be ...

for

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. While serving in the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...

, Raimundas Vaikšnoras commanded a motorized assault platoon and company, two battalions located in Vilnius and Rukla, was the commander of the Mechanized Infantry Brigade " Iron Wolf", performed other leadership duties as a staff officer in units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and participated in the international operation in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Military career

From 1991, Raimundas Vaikšnoras served as a Rifleman and Master Sergeant, later rising through the ranks to become a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1992,

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in 1994,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1997,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 2002, Lieutenant Colonel in 2008,

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 2012, Brigadier General in 2018, and ultimately reaching the rank of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 2024.

Service in the Lithuanian Armed Forces

From 1991, Raimundas Vaikšnoras began his military career as an Intelligence Specialist in the Training Unit of the National Defence Department, taking the Serviceman's Oath on 11th March 1991. He then served as a

Rifleman A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifling, rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction o ...

and Section Leader in the Training Unit. In 1992, he became a

Platoon Commander A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. ...

in the Vilnius Motorized Infantry Battalion, later serving as Motorized Infantry Company Commander in 1993. By 1997, he was appointed Senior Instructor of Topography and Chief of Staff at the Peace Support Forces Training Centre. In 1998, he became Chief Specialist in the Military Training Branch at the Rukla Training Regiment, later commanding the 2nd Training Battalion there in 1999. In 2000, he transitioned to the Defence Planning Branch of the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence as an Analysis Senior Specialist, and in 2001, he continued his role there as a Senior Specialist. By 2005, he was Chief of the Operations Control Centre at the Field Forces Headquarters of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. From 2006 to 2007, he served in an international mission in Afghanistan with the ISAF, Regional Command West. In 2007, he became the Commander of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion, holding this position until 2010, when he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff Operations at the Land Force Headquarters. In 2013, Vaikšnoras took command of the Mechanized Infantry Brigade " Iron Wolf" and in 2016, he became the Chief of the Operations Department (J3) at the Joint Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. By 2018, he was Deputy Chief of Staff Operations at the Defence Staff. In 2019, he was appointed Commander of the

Lithuanian Land Forces The Lithuanian Land Forces (LLF) form the backbone of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and are capable of acting as an integral part of NATO forces. Lithuanian Land Forces consist of a single recently formed 1st Army Division (military), Division, th ...

and served in this role until 2022. He then took the position of Assistant Chief of Staff Plans (J7) at the Headquarters Allied Joint Force Command in Brunssum before becoming the Chief of Defence of Lithuania in 2024.{{Cite web , date=2024-07-24 , title=Prisiekė naujasis Lietuvos kariuomenės vadas Vaikšnoras , url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/2325978/prisieke-naujasis-lietuvos-kariuomenes-vadas-vaiksnoras , access-date=2025-02-04 , website=lrt.lt , language=lt

References

1970 births Living people Lithuanian generals People from Druskininkai