Photo By Staff Sgt. Angela Parady | Soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st...... read more read more
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VAIVE, Latvia - Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, joined Latvian soldiers at an orphanage in the town of Vaive, Latvia, Oct. 28, 2014.
The Cavalry Scouts are tasked with conducting surveillance and reconnaissance of their enemies and keeping up to date on what is happening within their area of operations. They are often referred to as the eyes and ears of the battlefield and provide key intelligence to commanders who are able to plan their missions accordingly.
But not this cold October day. Instead, these Soldiers were looking to help build relations with the citizens of the country they are training in. Picking up axes and chainsaws, they joined with their Latvian partners to help make sure the residents in one orphanage won’t freeze this winter.
“Winters in Latvia are really harsh,” said Spc. Jordan Atchley, a scout and gunner for the 2nd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt. “We are out here cutting and splitting wood for the orphanage and getting to work in the community.”
The orphanage takes in unwanted and disabled children from neighboring areas, as well as abused women. Alone, they are not able to gather enough firewood to heat the house.
“Projects like this show not only that we are here, but that we are here to help,” continued the Dew, Texas native. “From the everyday things like splitting wood, to bigger projects, to just being here doing what we do.”
Atchley said the Latvian soldiers do projects like this on a regular basis; working directly in the community and helping out the less fortunate is just as assumed task for them.
“This isn’t out of the ordinary for them,” he said. “For us, it was nice to be able to get out and interact with the people of Latvia and help people in need. As a Soldier, one of our most valuable resources is always time, and today it felt really nice to give some of that time to helping others.”
In today’s military, Soldiers are constantly working to balance military operations, peacekeeping and humanitarian aid missions. Operation Atlantic Resolve is a training mission for soldiers to demonstrate their commitment to the peacekeeping nature of NATO, train soldiers in multinational scenarios, and also build relationships in the country. Going into the communities and working in small groups on projects that will help people, changes a Soldier’s perspective.
“They were all laughing and waving and cheering for us when we showed up,” said Atchley. “They were genuinely interested in us being here.”
Sgt. 1st Class Mason Young, the platoon sergeant for Scout Platoon, 2nd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt. said the mission, although not a training mission, helped bring the two cultures together.
“We really want to demonstrate that we do care, and we are here to help,” he said. “We wanted to put together a day to help out a charity here, while at the same time bringing together the Latvian people with the U.S. Army Soldiers, and showing them that we do care.”
Soldiers from 2nd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt. are part of the U.S. Army Europe-led Operation Atlantic Resolve land force assurance training taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to enhance multinational interoperability, strengthen relationships among allied militaries, contribute to regional stability and demonstrate U.S. commitment to NATO.
During their time in Latvia, the Soldiers will train in their units, as well as with foreign national partners to continue to improve and develop themselves as soldiers and leaders.
“We are here to share knowledge, and learn from each other. This is a training scenario; it is a chance for our younger soldiers to learn what it is like to be away from home, for all of our Soldiers to train in an environment that is not in the U.S., and to experience a multicultural environment. We hope to build culture and community, train hard and expand our knowledge as well."
At the end of their time here, Young said that he is hopeful to leave a positive impact on the allies they trained with here.
“We want our Latvian partners to know that we will support them on their future endeavors.”
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.30.2014 11:53 |
| Story ID: | 146570 |
| Location: | LV |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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