CORAOPOLIS, Pa. – A team from the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 171st Air Refueling Wing Communications Squadron traveled to Lithuania July 12-25, completing the unit’s fifth rotation supporting the Lithuanian Air Force’s Airspace Surveillance and Control Command Center in Karmelava.
The rotation continues a partnership that began with a fact-finding visit in September 2022, when Senior Master Sgt. Robert Beveridge traveled to Lithuania to assess potential areas for collaboration. After discussions with Lithuanian leadership, the squadron determined the command center was the best fit for its expertise, focusing on improving the operational resilience of its information technology systems.
The Airspace Surveillance and Control Command is responsible for the surveillance and control of Lithuanian airspace. According to Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defense, the new air surveillance network and defense system inaugurated at the Karmelava center will strengthen NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense System, improve regional interoperability and reinforce the reliability of Alliance airspace protection.
At the center, 171st personnel support critical Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence, or C4I, systems that enable Lithuanian air surveillance and control operations. Their work includes maintaining servers, network infrastructure and critical applications that integrate with NATO systems.
Pennsylvania and Lithuania have been partners in the Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program since 1993.
The partnership has evolved considerably since the first engagement. The 2023 rotation focused on understanding Lithuania’s production systems and helping integrate best practices and processes into day-to-day operations. Beginning in 2025, the focus shifted toward modernizing legacy production systems and implementing current information technology practices, including virtualization; Storage Area Network, or SAN; and Unified Computing System, or UCS, technologies.
The team continued that modernization work during this year’s rotation. Many of the squadron’s drill-status Guardsmen already use these technologies in their civilian careers, allowing them to bring outside expertise directly to the mission. The squadron has also built an in-house lab where Airmen can train on the systems before each rotation.
The equipment in Lithuania also uses different vendors than those the squadron typically works with at home, giving Airmen exposure to systems and configurations they might not otherwise encounter.
“It also affords us the opportunity to do bare-bones installation of applications that we only get to maintain here,” Beveridge said. “There are different implementations of software that we have the opportunity to test with, like clustering capabilities.”
Beveridge described the partnership as a two-way exchange, with 171st Airmen working alongside their Lithuanian counterparts and gaining hands-on experience with the center’s C4I systems. The collaboration helps reduce operational risk while increasing the resilience of Lithuania’s systems.
The partnership has also extended beyond the technical mission.
During one previous rotation, the mother of a Lithuanian teammate invited the group to her home for a homemade Lithuanian meal and desserts. She had recently opened a bakery and refused payment from the Airmen.
“She made us feel part of the family,” Beveridge said. “The culture is very warm, the people are very kind once you get to know them.”
Beveridge said the rotations also pay dividends when Airmen return to the 171st. Working with equipment and vendors different from those they maintain in the United States prepares technicians to operate in unfamiliar environments and broadens their technical experience.
A new group of Airmen is intentionally selected for each rotation to maximize the number of personnel who gain the experience. Beveridge said the approach strengthens both readiness and retention.
“This makes them better technicians, better trainers, better able to learn communication skills and opens their worldview working with a different culture,” Beveridge said.
Looking ahead, Beveridge said the goal is to expand the 171st’s role as Lithuania continues investing in modernization and emerging technologies.
As the Lithuanian Air Force continues to modernize its systems, the partnership provides the Pennsylvania Air National Guard an opportunity to share its expertise while giving 171st Airmen valuable experience supporting a NATO ally.