Riga, April 22, 2014 – On April 24, a company-sized contingent of U.S. paratroopers from U.S. Army Europe’s 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team will arrive in Latvia to begin exercises with Latvian troops. This new exercise is part of a series of expanded U.S. land force training activities in the Baltic region and Poland that are scheduled to take place for the next few months and beyond. A company-sized contingent will arrive in Poland on April 23 and additional companies will move in the coming days to Lithuania and Estonia for similar exercises. Through the troop deployment to Latvia the United States continues to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and to our collective defense responsibilities, by conducting additional military exercises, and enhancing security cooperation with its allies and partners in the Baltic and expanded region.
The United States will maintain a persistent rotational presence that draws on the different capabilities of NATO — air, ground and naval — to reassure our Allies that we are prepared for any contingency to meet our Article 5 obligations. Through these deployments, including bilateral engagements and exercises to enhance interoperability, U.S. Army Europe will maintain a persistent presence in the region at least through the end of this year.
MEDIA NOTE:
U.S. Embassy Latvia and the Latvian Ministry of Defense will issue further information on opportunities for media coverage as soon as it is available.
