Photo By Staff Sgt. Katharine Schmidt | CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. - An infantryman from Combat Support Company, 3rd Brigade,...... read more read more
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CAMP GRAYLING, Mich. - A continuous cloud of sand blankets the senses. Eyes water. Personnel and equipment jostle about uncontrollably, contained only by the hard top of an M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
Sgt. Brandon Burk, team leader, 135th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Iowa Army National Guard, looks back at his team. His half-cracked smile, a mixed reaction, falling somewhere between appreciation for the "ten-minute turned eternity" off-road ride and a nauseous daze.
The vehicle stops and Staff Sgt. Wade Goldman, Michigan Army National Guard, escorts the public affairs team to a group of Latvian Soldiers. Amidst the sea of new faces, one painted face stands out, Capt. Ervins Mukāns, commander, Combat Support Company, Latvian National Armed Forces. His troops have been training in the field and his company is awaiting aviation assets to carry them back to cantonment.
Latvian soldiers have been training at Camp Grayling, Mich., since early August. The Latvian forces are participating in Northern Strike, a joint, multinational, combined arms live fire exercise along with 11 states and five coalition countries. Within the exercise is a story, which a small public affairs team has been sent to capture.
The camaraderie between the Michigan National Guard and the Latvian National Armed Forces is genuine. It's a relationship, hallmarked in 2018, as they celebrated their 25th year of working together as part of the State Partnership Program. The State Partnership Program (SPP) is an official collaboration between the U.S. National Guard Bureau, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. State Department.
The Republic of Latvia is a small country bordering the Baltic Sea, Estonia, Lithuania and Russia. The country officially declared their independence in 1918 after World War I. Following the aftermath of World War II, Latvia was occupied by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and it wasn't until 1991, they regained their independence.
Just a couple years later, the partnership between the Michigan National Guard and Latvia began in 1993.
Goldman sees great benefits to the SPP. He sees the SPP as instrumental in helping Latvia maintain their independence while improving combat readiness for both allied countries.
“We get to see their home tactics and how they do things a little bit differently than [the Michigan National Guard],” Goldman said. “Especially in the infantry world. It’s important to take different tactics from everywhere [we] come from and use that information to better refine our own tactics.”
It was this group of Latvian soldiers' first time in the United States, with the exception of Mukāns who had visited for planning purposes in February. While the Latvian soldiers found the Michigan terrain somewhat similar to their home country, the Midwest humidity proved challenging.
"The heat was a definite struggle," Mukāns said. "The troops had to replenish their water supply twice as often as they would have in Latvia."
While Latvian forces waited for aviation, Burk's public affairs team had an opportunity to interact and briefly get to know the Latvian soldiers. In the brief moments awaiting transportation, they shared stories about training, dialogued about Internet videos, traded patches and discussed the American Meals Ready to Eat (MREs).
Pvt Arturs Kaupuzs, a company grenadier with Combat Support Company said there was talk of an MRE that came with mainly desserts. "We haven't found it yet," said Kaupuzs. "Maybe it is just a rumor."
Regardless of the status of the dessert MRE, the Latvians' real interest was in their movement back to main post.
“We have walked to the training site and sometimes we have driven, but we have never flown to our training site [before],” Mukāns said.
As the sun set and the sky changed to lavender, its' serenity was interrupted by the deep sound of helicopters. Two CH-47 Chinooks showed up creating a whirlwind of dirt and grass. The Latvian troops laughed in excitement, holding up cell phones to take video and photos of the giant aircraft, before boarding.
It has been a unique experience in the United States and one Mukāns said he will not soon forget.
“We speak different languages and wear different uniforms. It’s a lot more interesting to train here," he said.
Training events like Northern Strike have a way of building relationships and bridging the divide, whether it's between our own U.S. armed forces, our own states or even our partners across the globe.
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2018 12:32 |
| Story ID: | 288463 |
| Location: | GRAYLING, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 112 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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