ADAZI, Latvia — Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of the U.S. European Command and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Allied Command Operations, arrived at approximately noon on March 15 in Adazi for a lunch with U.S. and Latvian soldiers.
Scaparrotti then met with Soldiers who are deployed in the region as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a U.S. led NATO endeavor to ensure peace and stability by deterring aggressive actions.
For 45 minutes, the general stayed at the dining facility to eat lunch and then walked around to various tables.
Spc. Shannon Khoury, a combat engineer with Company A, 588th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., sat on the left side of the general at the table.
The general inquired about the Soldier's quality of life, training and sense of the mission for Operation Atlantic Resolve, Spc. Khoury said.
Only a few days ago, Khoury became the first Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV) driver to qualify on the .50 caliber machine gun in her unit.
Scaparrotti gave out the U.S. European Command coin to his table of 14, equally split between U.S. and Latvian forces.
Afterward, Scaparrotti walked around the dining facility, meeting various enlisted Soldiers and officers of the two forces.
Scaparrotti also met with the Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Bergmanis and recently promoted Chief of Defense Maj. Gen. Leonids Kalnins to discuss security and bilateral defense cooperation between the U.S. and Latvia.
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