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240,000 people. Think of what that number means to you in terms of your own city. The average NFL football stadium holds 70,000. Nearly a quarter million represents three and a half football stadiums worth of people. Now imagine that many people being uprooted from their homes and sent to live in concentration camps, exiled, and not knowing where they’ll go, nor when, if ever, they’ll return. This is exactly what happened to Latvians during WWII.
Latvia, along with other Baltic nations between Russia and Germany, became a battleground with its citizens caught in the crossfire of these two world powers. Most of those 240,000 never saw their homes or their property again. Several cities were completely abandoned in the wake of this exile. Russia occupied the country for over 50 years, starting June 17, 1940, during WWII and ending with Latvian independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter in July 1993, a State Partnership Program was initiated by the United States, forging a collaboration between the state of Michigan and Latvia.
The ongoing partnership with Michigan is a necessary step in ensuring Latvia’s independence and military competence, and is part of the overall U.S. Defense strategy. Operation Northern Strike at Camp Grayling, Michigan, has provided the Michigan and Latvian National Guard opportunities to sharpen defense security goals.
“The main benefit is the strength in our ties. We share ideas and personal contact because a familiar face is nice during deployments overseas,” says Staff Sgt. Gatis Indrevics, photographer for the Latvian Ministry of Defense. “Trust is developed, and it's easier to work shoulder to shoulder when you know who you are working with.”
The Michigan Army National Guard's 126th Press Camp Headquarters (PCH), based in Fort Custer, Michigan, has been supporting public affairs missions in Latvia for several years. “The Latvian public affairs team consistently brings quality technical and personal skills to any training event,” shares Lt. Col. John Hall, Commander of the 126th PCH. “We welcome any training opportunity to partner with them. It has always enhanced our ability to get the message out to our partner nations.”
Two Latvian public affairs counterparts participated in, and supported public affairs operations during Northern Strike 2017 at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center. The 126th PCH is slated to continue the Latvian partnership next year with an overseas deployment as part of Saber Strike during the first two weeks of June 2018. Saber Strike is a multi-national training event held throughout Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland, among others countries.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2017 14:16 |
| Story ID: | 244449 |
| Location: | GRAYLING, MI, US |
| Hometown: | RIGA, RIX, LV |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, State Partnership Program Between Michigan and Latvia is a Public Affair, by CPT Joe Legros, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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