Spanish soldiers place a cross on the Hill of Crosses, which was devastated by communism

This Tuesday, August 31, the Vilkas Detachment of the Spanish Air Force completed its Baltic Air Policing mission in Lithuania.

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The units that have formed part of this Vilkas Detachment

In this rotation, the Vilkas Detachment has been made up of 7 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters from Wing 14 and 134 Air Force military personnel, deployed at the Šiauliai Air Base and in the town of Karmėlava, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bayardo Abós Álvarez-Buiza. The components of the Detachment belong to the 14th Wing, the Mobile Air Control Group (GRUMOCA), the Second Air Deployment Support Squadron (SEADA), the Seville Air Maintenance Depot (MAESE), the Directorate of Education (DEN), the Management Computing Center (CIGES), the Communications Group (GRUTRA), the Central Command and Control Group (GRUCEMAC), the Northern Command and Control Group (GRUNOMAC), the Alert and Control Group (GRUALERCON), the Logistics Supply Center (CLOIN), the Air Deployment Support Squadron (EADA), the Deployment Support Medical Unit (UMAAD), and the Logistics Center of Armament and Experimentation (CLAEX) and, in addition, personnel from the Central Defense Hospital.

The fighters of Wing 14 have made 417 sorties, 28 of them Alpha Scramble

The Vilkas Detachment was deployed to Lithuania at the end of April to provide air defense to the Baltic republics, which are our NATO allies and whose air forces lack their own fighter jets to counter the increasing Russian incursions in the Baltic. During these months, and according to data published by the Spanish Defence Staff, the pilots of Wing 14 have accumulated 750 flight hours and flown 417 sorties and 211 missions, 28 of which were Alpha Acramble alerts.

The tradition of placing a cross on the Kryziu Kalnas of Šiauliai

On Tuesday, a ceremony was held to transfer the BAP mission to personnel from the Portuguese and Danish Air Forces, who are taking over the operation with F-16 fighter jets. Additionally, the Spanish airmen visited Kryziu Kalnas (Hill of Crosses), located 12 kilometers from Šiauliai. The history of this Lithuanian shrine dates back to the 19th century, when Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. Lithuanians began placing crosses on this hill to remember their compatriots who died in the November Uprising of 1830, in which Poles and Lithuanians rose up against Russian rule.

Following the Soviet invasion of 1940, the communists razed the hill four times in an attempt to erase Lithuania's Catholic identity and national spirit. Each time the communists tore them down, the Lithuanians rebuilt the crosses, an admirable example of resistance against Soviet totalitarianism. The site has become one of the symbols of Lithuanian national identity, and it is now a tradition for foreign military personnel, whether Catholic or not, to place a cross upon completing their service in Lithuania during BAP missions, as a gesture of friendship and farewell to Lithuania.

Yesterday, accompanied by Lithuanian military personnel, the Spanish airmen of the Vilkas Detachment placed their own cross in homage to their participation in the BAP mission, "fulfilling the Lithuanian tradition of installing their own cross on the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai," as noted by the General Staff of the Defense, which has released these photos of the ceremony.

The cross placed by the Vilkas Detachment includes the Flag of Spain and the rokiski of the Spanish Air Force, in addition to the Detachment's shield.

Furthermore, as a memento of their mission, Spanish aviators have placed a small monolith with the silhouette of a Eurofighter at Šiauliai Air Base, alongside the mementos left by previous BAP missions from Spain and other countries at that point on the base.

Mi enhorabuena a los hombres y mujeres del Destacamento Vilkas por el trabajo hecho durante estos meses. ¡Brazo Zulú!

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Photos: Estado Mayor de la Defensa / Embajada de España en Lituania.