Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Sonia Pawloski | On a night twenty-five years in the making, members of the Michigan National Guard...... read more read more
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GRAYLING, Mich. – On a night twenty-five years in the making, members of the Michigan National Guard gathered with counterparts from the Latvian National Armed Forces, Aug. 12, 2018, to celebrate mutual success, remember fallen friends, and reaffirm a bond that transcends language, culture, and geography.
Latvia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Hon. Andris Teikmanis, headlined the official portion of the ceremony, held at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center’s historic officer’s club, along with Lt. Gen. Leonīds Kalniņš, Chief of Defense, Latvian National Armed Forces, and Maj. Gen. Gregory Vadnais, Michigan National Guard Adjutant General.
The ceremony, attended by approximately 200, coincided with exercise Northern Strike 18 (Aug 5 - 18, 2018), the U.S.’s largest reserve component readiness event, held annually at Camp Grayling and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Mich. This year, exercise Northern Strike’s 6,400 participants included some 60 Latvians, as well as other partners from Poland, Hungary, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Jordan, and the U.K.
The multinational spirit of Northern Strike 18 made a perfect backdrop for the Michigan-Latvia event.
In his evening remarks, Teikmanis pointed out that the 25th anniversary of Latvia and Michigan’s defense cooperation coincides with the 100th anniversary of Latvia’s birth as an independent nation.
“Latvia was born from the ashes of the First World War, and we are always honoring Latvians who have fallen in freedom wars and liberation wars – fighting for our independence,” said Teikmanis. “That’s the reason we’re honoring our soldiers today, and that’s also why we’re honoring so much our great partnership with Michigan.”
Teikmanis added that while the last 25 years have borne heavy emotional challenges – including the loss of two Latvian soldiers on a combined deployment with Michigan soldiers in 2009 – the story of the Michigan-Latvia partnership is ultimately one of triumph.
“We have seen hard times together, marked by blood,” said Teikmanis. “But it has developed into a true brotherhood of arms.”
Vadnais echoed Teikmanis’s sentiments as he offered a special proclamation honoring the Michigan-Latvia partnership from Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.
“When you stop and reflect on what we’ve accomplished together, it is nothing less than amazing,” said Vadnais. “We have set the standard for state partnerships.”
The Latvia-Michigan bond was the first solidified under the U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP) on April 27, 1993. The SPP has since grown to include 75 partnerships with 81 nations around the globe. The SPP links a unique component of the Department of Defense – a state's National Guard – with the armed forces or equivalent of a partner country in a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship.
This theme of mutual value recurred several times over the course of the evening.
“There has been learning and growing on both sides,” said Vadnais. “It’s all about building capabilities to defend not only Latvia, but this country as well – that is the business we are in.”
Kalniņš remarked on the incredible number of initiatives tackled jointly between Michiganders and Latvians over the past quarter-century. These include Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) capabilities, Joint Fires Observer (JFO) capabilities, cyber defense, air traffic control, airfield management, fire protection, airbase defense, explosive ordnance disposal, and many others.
“Our cooperation is still alive and is moving deeper, even after twenty-five years,” said Kalniņš. “I think it has been more successful than other states, because each year we have found many new areas of partnership, which has been interesting and beneficial for both sides – this has been the key.”
It was the third SPP anniversary celebration held this year between Michigan and Latvian partners. On April 27th – the date the SPP was formalized in 1993 – a transatlantic teleconference was held to unveil a book and documentary about the Michigan-Latvia relationship. In June, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder traveled to Latvia to attend the unveiling of “Michigan Avenue,” a new street named for the partnership at Ādaži Military Base, Latvia.
The Grayling celebration was capped with a performance by the Latvian National Guard Band, led by Capt. Andis Karelis, whose 20-plus members were joined for the evening by eight musicians from the Michigan National Guard’s 126th Army Band.
Dignitaries noted the band’s spirit, as well as the profound symbolism of a joint performance.
The evening had an atmosphere similar to a family reunion, right down to the barbeque dinner – enjoyed as friends and colleagues retired to the club’s wide, open-air porch, where conversations carried into the hot August night.
For Vadnais, it was a fitting observation for a relationship that holds great personal significance to many – and equal significance for regional stability, deterrence, and defense capability in the Baltics.
“One of the most meaningful things in my career as a soldier is to have had the opportunity to build on our partnership with Latvia,” said Vadnais, addressing the Latvian delegation in attendance. “We love you.”
Northern Strike 18 is a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise uniting over 5,000 service members from many states, multiple service branches, and nine coalition countries during the first three weeks of August 2018 at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, both located in northern Michigan and operated by the Michigan National Guard. The accredited Joint National Training Capabilities exercise demonstrates the Michigan National Guard's ability to provide accessible, readiness-building opportunities for military units from all service branches to achieve and sustain proficiency in conducting mission command, air, sea, and ground maneuver integration, together with the synchronization of fires in a joint, multinational, decisive action environment.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2018 15:47 |
| Story ID: | 289116 |
| Location: | GRAYLING, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 229 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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