Realism The Key In Latest Latvian NATO Exercise

NATO allies practised adversarial scenarios as close as possible to true combat conditions in Exercise Paladin Shield in Latvia.

The latest ten-day manoeuvres, which followed on from last month’s Paladin Strike, were again staged at the Adazi Military Camp just east of Latvia’s capital, Riga.

The multinational NATO training exercise involved troops from both the U.S.  and Canada and were focused on providing multi-domain operations in a realistic environment for training objectives. 

A post by the NATO Multinational Battlegroup on social media platform X said the aim of the exercise was to sharpen their defensive operations and concentrated on advancing into contact and staging a counterattack.

Among those taking part were U.S. Army Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. As per a recent U.S. Army press release, they took on the role of “enemy” units — or OPFOR (Opposition Forces) in exercise parlance.

The press statement noted: “OPFOR units are often trained to replicate potential real-world adversaries' tactics, strategies and capabilities. This allows friendly forces to experience varied combat scenarios, enhancing their readiness and effectiveness in facing potential threats.”

• You can read more details about the exercise on the U.S. Army website