The Latvian Land Force Infantry Brigade participating in Exercise Saber Strike 15 is a regular unit of the Latvian Armed Forces partly staffed with professional soldiers.
The Brigade was established in 2006 as a result of the Latvian Land Force reorganisation implemented in order to improve command and control structure which began after Latvia's NATO accession in 2004. With the establishment of the Brigade, its commander, the position currently held by Colonel Mārtiņš Liberts, was appointed the commander of the entire Latvian Land Force.
In a similar way as the Lithuanian Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf the Latvian Infantry Brigade has been affiliated (which an extraordinary status denoting close cooperation) to the Danish Division since 2013 and is taking part in major Danish Division exercises.
Military personnel of the Latvian Land Force Infantry Brigade were once taking part in various peace support operations abroad. Currently the Brigade contributes to the NATO operation in Afghanistan and the European Union Training Mission in Mali, with Estonian, Finnish, Lithuanian and Swedish colleagues in the latter.
Also roughly 230 members of the Infantry Brigade together with military personnel from Estonia and Lithuania will be on standby for the NATO Response Force in 2016 as the tri-national Baltic Battalion (BALTBAT).
The Latvian Land Force Infantry Brigade includes two infantry battalions, a combat support battalion, a headquarters and communications company, a logistics and transportation company and a medical company. The key objectives of the Brigade are to ensure territorial defence, and to ensure combat readiness of its units, training of the reserve, and support civilian institutions.
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Saber Strike is an annual exercise held by the U.S. Army Europe in the Baltic States. Saber Strike 2015 is the fifth iteration of the series held in Lithuania. The part of the exercise in Lithuania will involve roughly 1.6 thousand Lithuanian military and 1.5 thousand troops from 9 NATO countries - Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia, and the USA.
Roughly 1 thousand of Portuguese, US and German military personnel have brought an impressive arsenal of military armament for the FTX in Lithuania: the ABRAMS tanks, the STRYKER, the BOXER, the PANDUR and the FUCHS wheeled armoured personnel carriers and the EAGLE IV and the DINGO II armoured reconnaissance vehicles.
The Field Training Exercise of Saber Strike 2015 held in the Adazi Training Area in Latvia will also certify at national level the Baltic Battalion (BALTBAT) which is preparing for standby for the NATO Response Force (NRF) in 2016. BALTBAT formed by Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian militaries is a combined Baltic contribution to the NATO Response Force. Lithuania's input into BALTBAT is a company and a headquarters element of King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion.
The portions of Saber Strike running in Estonia and Poland feature air capability training and live fire exercise respectively.
In June NATO and Allies are conducting a series of training events in Central and Eastern Europe referred to as the Allied Shield series of exercise which strengthens regional security and NATO deterrence in the context of the changed, post-Russian aggression in Ukraine security situation.
Photo credits: Daugirdas Antulis
