Civil Affairs Soldiers Attend Lithuania's Largest American Car Show

DRUSKININKAI, Lithuania — Four U.S. Army Civil Affairs Soldiers spent Friday walking the grounds of Lithuania's largest American car show, talking with festivalgoers as part of a mission the team says depends as much on informal contact as on meetings with local officials.

The soldiers had just sat down to lunch when a man crossed the field toward their table, his daughter bouncing along behind him. He asked in halting English whether they would take a photo with her. They did. He seemed proud of her, and of the moment. Then he thanked them and went back into the crowd.

Interactions like that one are the reason the team was there, said Staff Sgt. Cedric Saunders, a team sergeant with the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion.

"You never know who you're going to meet," Saunders said.

American Spirit has run for 18 years and is the largest gathering of American cars and motorcycles in Lithuania. This year's festival drew 375 registered vehicles and more than 660 people to a former grass airfield outside Druskininkai, a resort town about nine kilometers from the Belarusian border. Crews came from at least seven countries, including Latvia, Poland, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway. More than 100 of the entries were at least 30 years old.

The field had almost no shade and a steady breeze that did not help. Organizers canceled a human-sized foosball match because of the heat. Shirts came off. Families crowded under umbrellas at the picnic tables. Everything else ran anyway. Engines turning over, custom horns going off across the field, smoke from the grills drifting over a line of cars idling toward the judges.

The team, based at Pabradė Training Area, came on the recommendation of the Civil Affairs rotation that preceded it. That team attended last year and made connections the mission still draws on, relationships that outlasted the Soldiers who built them.

Civil Affairs units serve as the Army's link to the civilian population in a given country. In Lithuania, the team works with municipal governments and nongovernmental organizations, helps organize joint training events and reports what it learns back to commanders.

Much of that happens in scheduled meetings with officials. Saunders said the conversations like the ones he had today help draw a more holistic picture.

"It's one thing to be with the mayor," he said. "It's another thing to be with Jonas or Dovydas, who lives here. "They have this great interaction with Americans, and they go back to their homes, and then that spreads.”

He said there is a practical argument too. The man showing off his engine work in the next row may do something for a living the U.S. military has little visibility into. A mayor's calendar does not surface that.

"Only meeting with a mayor doesn't give us that opportunity," Saunders said.

Saunders is on his second rotation in the region; his first was in Poland in 2022. He said he does not rely on any single conversation. He compares official engagements, informal ones and what Lithuanians say online until a pattern holds.

"I try to take an aggregate of all the different interactions that I've had," he said.

Capt. Aaron Eyerly, the team chief, said the team pursues both for that very reason.

"Both perspectives are valuable, and they complement each other," Eyerly said. "Engagements with leaders, such as mayors, provide insight into community planning and larger regional challenges. Conversations with community members help us understand those issues and how they can impact daily life from personal experiences."

Civil Affairs, Eyerly said, "serves as the link between military operations and the civilian environment. Our role is to understand communities, engage with civilian leaders and organizations, and help military commanders make informed decisions that account for the needs and perspectives of the local population."

Through the afternoon, festivalgoers stopped the soldiers for photos, to practice their English, or to explain at length what was under the hood. One member of the team has been teaching himself Lithuanian and has gotten good enough to hold a conversation. Saunders said he can see what it does to people when he tries.

"You can just tell, their eyes light up," Saunders said. "They're like, oh, they're actually taking an interest in us. He's here learning our language. He's here to participate in our event."

Eyerly said watching those exchanges is the part of the job he values most.

"I'm always proud of my team, but I really enjoy watching them have discussions on topics that they're passionate about," he said. "These interactions are what Civil Affairs is about, building strong relationships through mutual respect and understanding."

None of it gets counted. Nobody tallied the photographs, or the conversations, or the number of hoods that went up for a stranger in a U.S. Army uniform.

Asked why attending mattered, Saunders took a moment before answering.

"I think one part of being a good ally is also being a good friend," he said. "And showing up to these types of events is showing that we're good friends for Lithuania."

(U.S. Army Story by Sgt. Max Elliott, 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)