CAMP ADAZI, LATVIA –
Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (3 RCR) based in Petawawa, Ontario, are contributing some military muscle to Exercise SUMMER SHIELD, a NATO military training exercise, at Camp Adazi in Latvia. A team of approximately 45 soldiers will take part in tactical live-fire exercises from March 22 to 31, 2015. The Canadians will add their knowledge and experience as they participate in joint training exercises with forces from Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Germany and the United States. The training exercise is intended to demonstrate NATO’s resolve and unity to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The exercise will end with a Distinguished Visitor day on March 31.
Quick Facts
- Ex SUMMER SHIELD is an annual multinational exercise held at Camp Adazi situated near Riga, Latvia. This year, more than 1,100 NATO troops will train together in a live fire scenario.
- The Exercise provides an invaluable opportunity for the Canadian Armed forces to train and improve military interoperability in the Baltic region with NATO Forces.
- Canadian Armed Forces are committed to working with NATO Allies and have consistently sought opportunities to participate in collective training exercises across Europe, most recently in Poland, Germany, Lithuania and Latvia.
Quotes
“Canada’s participation in exercises such as SUMMER SHIELD shows our commitment to stand with our Eastern European NATO allies against Vladimir Putin's aggression.”
The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of National Defence
“This is a unique and challenging training event for the commanders and soldiers involved in a live-fire multinational brigade exercise. We also aim to broaden this experience to our home units and our training system to make longer term gains in shared understanding with our Allied Forces.”
Major Jonathan Hubble, Land Task Force Commander