Next week’s annual military exercises ‘Winter Shield 2021’ will start at Ādaži landfill

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The Mechanized Infantry Brigade of the Land Forces will take part in the military exercise, National Guard, Lithuanian Armed Forces, stationed in Latvia NATO soldiers of the expanded presence battle group and the U.S. Armed Forces Command in Europe.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the training aims to assess and develop the ability of battalion-level units to plan and conduct operations to improve unit integration and interoperability. The tasks of the training are to develop skills in overcoming obstacles, including river and minefields, evacuating victims, performing protection maneuvers, and coordinating indirect fire and near-air support.

During the training, battle shooting of howitzers, mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and small arms will take place every day from 9 am to 11 pm, as well as overflights of military aircraft are planned. Training activities with combat shooting at Ādaži training ground will take place both during daylight hours and in the dark.

During the training, military equipment of both the Latvian and Allied armed forces will move along Latvian roads, and military aircraft will fly in the airspace.

Military aircraft fly only at the altitudes and speeds specified in regulatory enactments, therefore the noise generated is temporary and does not cause harm to people and property, the Ministry of Defense points out.

As far as possible, operational information on the activities of the National Armed Forces and the Allies is available on the social media profiles of the Armed Forces, as well as on the Facebook page of the Land Forces Mechanized Infantry Brigade.

The multinational battle group is led by Canada and consists of more than 1,500 troops from Albania, the Czech Republic, Italy, Iceland, Canada, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, who are serving in Latvia on a rotating basis, participating in training with the National Armed Forces, thereby improving interoperability with regional allies to respond to security environmental challenges.

The purpose of establishing and deploying NATO’s enhanced presence battlegroups is to contribute to NATO’s deterrence and strengthen the Alliance’s defense by demonstrating the Alliance’s solidarity and determination to defend the Alliance against all forms of aggression. The NATO Expanded Battlegroup has been deployed in Latvia since June 2017.

In turn, after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in the spring of 2014 and the aggression in the east of Ukraine, the United States launched the training operation “Atlantic Resolve”, sending a jewelry-level unit to Latvia on a rotating basis.

Latvian and US soldiers also regularly participate in joint exercises and activities to promote cooperation and interoperability, including training in special operations tasks.

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