Soldiers from different units carried the old and new flags for almost 400 kilometers from Klaipėda over six days.
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During the flag handover ceremony, the Minister of National Defence Robertas Kaunas presented the new Land Forces march flag to the commander of the Land Forces, Brigadier General Nerijus Stankevičius.
On its green background, crossed swords and a shield are depicted.
“Today the march ends. But the service does not end. Because service is not a path from start to finish. Service is a daily choice,” Brigadier General N. Stankevičius said during the solemn formation.
He emphasized that the unbroken chain of the march “has become a living reminder that Lithuania’s defense is based on people, their mutual trust, and a shared commitment to serve the state.”
The current Land Forces flag – yellow Columns of Gediminas on a red background – was handed over to the commander of the armed forces, General Raimundas Vaikšnoras.
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As previously indicated by BNS, the armed forces had not had a separate representative – so-called march – flag until now.
“After nearly a year of evaluating the symbolism of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, consultations with historians and heraldry specialists, it was decided to hand over the current Land Forces march flag to the Lithuanian Armed Forces. This decision was made to unify the symbolism used by the Lithuanian Armed Forces,” the commentary states.
According to the armed forces, the Columns of Gediminas are their symbol, used both in the leadership service badge and in the service badge of units directly subordinate to the commander of the armed forces, as well as in the symbolism, service badges, and flags of many other military units.
“It is common practice that a military unit’s service badge and representative march flag are based on the same symbolism. Until now, this was not the case for the Land Forces – their service badge and march flag were different. The decision made resolves this situation: from now on, both the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Land Forces service badges will correspond to the march flags they use,” the armed forces state.
