Photo By Capt. Andrew Layton | Senior Master Sgt. Rob Mills, Alpena CRTC Security Forces superintendent, Chief Master...... read more read more
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ALPENA, Mich. – With approximately 5,000 participants, Exercise Northern Strike will mark the U.S. military’s largest reserve component exercise of the year. The exercise, which sprawls across northern Michigan from July 29 – Aug. 11, will feature events at Michigan National Guard facilities including Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Camp Grayling, Grayling Air-to-Ground Range, the Calcite Quarry in Rogers City, and the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula. However, Northern Strike’s true hallmark is the opportunity it presents for combined maneuvers with a variety of coalition partners. This year, the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, Denmark, Lithuania, and Latvia are all represented.
Notably, the Michigan National Guard’s partnership with Latvia – a small country in the Baltic region bordering Russia – dates back nearly 25 years to the security vacuum that swept the Baltic states after the Soviet Union’s collapse. That’s when the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Guard Bureau responded to a request from formerly occupied nations of the Soviet bloc for security assistance with the establishment of national defense forces and other governmental institutions. A decision to pair the National Guard forces of individual states with these newly independent nations was made and the State Partnership Program was born. When Michigan joined the program, it requested Latvia as its Baltic counterpart, a nation that shares much with the Great Lakes region topographically, including its forest-green landscape and harsh winters.
Chief Master Sgt. Jerome Torres, airfield manager at Alpena CRTC, has been involved in the State Partnership Program since 2012 and has participated in approximately a dozen bilateral military events in Latvia. He says that the progress made by Latvian armed forces over the past five years in organization and mission capability is remarkable.
“Northern Strike is a big part of that because the exercise gives us a hands-on opportunity to manage large-scale airflow as bilateral partners,” said Torres. “It’s good for both countries.”
This week, Torres is working with Maj. Normunds Mercs, airfield manager for the Latvian Air Force, on air traffic control plans and airfield management policy. They’ve known each other for about four years, and their rapport makes for an easy collaboration.
“Even though we have two different cultures, we have a very good synch,” said Mercs. “I’ve hardly noticed any challenges in working with our Michigan colleagues.”
Lt. Col. Dustin Budd, Michigan’s Bilateral Affairs Officer in Latvia, says that these kind of long-term relationships between Latvian and Michigan military personnel are key to the success of the State Partnership Program.
“The State Partnership Program pays dividends beyond what anyone could have originally expected,” said Budd. “Exercise Northern Strike is a key event to showcase this partnership because it puts American and Latvian service members side-by-side in realistic incident management scenarios that test the skills, trust, and mutual experience they've built over time."
In many cases, these bonds have evolved from professional contacts to deep personal friendships. Senior Master Sgt. Rob Mills, Security Forces superintendent at Alpena CRTC, says his favorite experience from seven state partnership-affiliated trips came when Mills’ Latvian counterpart invited him to a cultural dance recital his daughter was performing in.
“Most people don’t even know where Latvia is,” said Mills. “For me to be invited to such a special tradition in the Latvian culture was incredible. Of course, when my Latvian friends asked me about what kind of cultural dances we have in America, I said, ‘In America, we have dance fads. There’s nothing that comes close to this kind of tradition and significance.’”
Torres agrees that “tradition” and “honor” are words synonymous with Latvia’s culture. “What really impresses me about the Latvian people is their deep appreciation of heritage,” he said. “It all goes back to Latvian pride.”
Along with a high regard for tradition, national values of resilience and fortitude are tightly-woven into Latvia’s identity and have carried its people through a tumultuous history marked by occupation and war. After winning independence from the Russian Empire in 1918, Latvia was again occupied by Soviet Russia in 1940. In 1941, it was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany, then reconquered by the Soviets in 1944. Harsh fighting scarred the countryside of Latvia during World War II, which preceded a period of economic hardship as Latvia remained part of the Soviet Union until 1991. In the years since, Latvia has emerged as a sovereign democracy that is building international credibility through military proficiency and its strong ties to the West.
“Latvia’s military capabilities and infrastructure are always improving,” said Mills. “Some of their security programs are even more advanced than what we have in the U.S.”
Nowhere has this been clearer than in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Latvians have served as important battlefield allies to American forces. In fact, two Latvian soldiers have been killed while serving alongside troops from the Michigan National Guard. Their portraits now hang in the Michigan National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters in Lansing.
Though Latvia’s military proficiency is surging, the country still faces grave challenges because of its geographical proximity to Russia. Despite the fact that Latvia’s capital, Riga, is a mere eleven hours removed from Moscow by auto, Latvia’s decades of Soviet occupation have left many of its citizens bitterly entrenched against the Kremlin, even to this day. The State Partnership Program itself finds strategic value as an unshakable deterrent against Russian aggression in the Baltic region, especially after the Kremlin’s 2014 invasion of Crimea.
“Without our cooperation with the Michigan Air National Guard, the Latvian Air Force wouldn’t make such progress as we have,” said Mercs. “We wouldn’t have the practical knowledge that it takes to be proficient. Having that, our military is stronger, more ready, and more capable to rise to the task at hand.”
This year, Latvia’s participation in Exercise Northern Strike is more robust than ever. Approximately 300 troops from the Latvian National Guard (Zemessardzes) will be operating out of Camp Grayling. Alpena CRTC is due to host nine Latvian military firefighters and a number of Joint Tactical Air Controllers. Meanwhile, the Latvian Combat Camera team will be on a sojourn across northern Michigan documenting the adventures of their countrymen and women.
As Michigan’s State Partnership Program with Latvia nears the quarter-century mark, subject-matter experts predict more growth and mutual benefit between the two countries. According to Torres and Mills, current projects planned with participation from the Michigan Air National Guard include more infrastructure improvements at Latvia’s military airfield and further cooperation in the standardization of policy for Latvian force protection and security professionals.
“It is very exciting to literally help write doctrine and guidance for a foreign military ally,” said Mills. “We’re helping to spread peace, cooperation, and goodwill in two very different parts of the world. That’s the thing I love most about working with the State Partnership Program.”
Northern Strike ‘17 is a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise uniting approximately 5,000 service members from 11 states and five coalition countries during the first two weeks of August 2017 at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, both located in northern Michigan and operated by the Michigan National Guard The newly-accredited NS 17 demonstrates the Michigan National Guard’s ability to provide accessible, readiness-building opportunities for military units from all service branches to achieve and sustain proficiency in conducting mission command, air, sea, and ground maneuver integration, together with the synchronization of fires in a joint, multinational, decisive action environment.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2017 09:31 |
| Story ID: | 243344 |
| Location: | ALPENA, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 380 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Northern Strike a Showcase for Michigan’s Military Partnership with Latvia, by Capt. Andrew Layton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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