Report from the American Stryker

Explosions can be heard in the capital of a country friendly to Latvia, and sitting in an American armored fighting vehicle Stryker, it's hard not to think that it could be happening in Riga right now if it weren't for our allies. So Latvia made the right choice at the right time. The Americans have arrived. Currently for training, for three weeks, but beyond that... we'll see.

Formally, this operation has nothing to do with the events in Ukraine. The Americans and other allies are taking part in the pre-planned international military exercises Saber Strike and Crystal Arrow. Army exercises are always given powerful and inspiring names. But because of the war in Ukraine, every NATO movement, every country, every soldier and every weapon has a completely different meaning now than in peacetime. And in Latvia, it would be useful to put an American in front of every house, because an American is in itself a deterrent to the enemy. Especially a well-armed one. On the eastern flank of Europe, allies continue to arrive - by air, by land, by water - demonstrating the ability to move large forces at high speed and the interoperability, the ability to work together - that is the NATO Article 5 guarantee. The legal umbrella that Ukraine desperately lacks as it fights for the future of Europe as a whole, and which the Kremlin is unwilling to allow to be opened. But Latvia has such an umbrella.

12 nations

On Saturday night, a military transport convoy with Stryker infantry fighting vehicles crossed the Latvian border from Lithuania. These are eight-wheeled land vessels equipped with a variety of firearms - cannons, heavy machine guns, missile systems. Also the red cross - because in any battle there will be wounded. And often in training too. When you're working with such robust equipment, it's unavoidable. It should be stressed that this is just one small part of the total force that has been transferred to Latvia as part of the exercise. In total, 12 allied nations, some 800 military equipment units and more than 2,800 soldiers and national guards are participating in both exercises.

But this particular American army column was the one that Neatkarīgā had the exclusive opportunity to join on the night of Saturday. To watch the Lithuanian military police hand over the convoy to the Latvian military police. Armored convoys have to be escorted because such objects in traffic pose an increased risk of accidents and also provocations. Accordingly, the receiving country is responsible for the safe movement of the convoy on its territory to its final destination, the tent city at the Ādaži base.

1500-kilometer route

Service in the National Guard opens up many opportunities - you can learn to shoot the bad guys with different weapons, you can go to the border to protect the country from the migrants sent by Belarus and Russia's hybrid operations, and you can also ride at night with the Americans in their armored personnel carrier from Grenctāle to Ādaži.

No photos of the inside are allowed, although it is these pictures of tired soldiers, who are still fully focused on the mission, that would best illustrate the reality. And also a box of energy drink cans. Six days have been spent on the long journey from their permanent station in Germany. 1500 kilometers covered at 50 kilometers per hour. The journey is made at night to make it safer. Maintenance, planning, rest during the day. It is half past midnight when leaving Grenctāle to go to Ādaži. The last leg of this march has begun and the armored car drivers do not even ask for a shift change. Usually, they change every hour on the road, as the driving is not very comfortable for the driver - especially in the cool Latvian weather, coming from the warm German winter. The driver's upper body is actually outside the armored car. But everyone wants to get to the end faster.

How to stop Russia

You cannot use a voice recorder during the three and a half hours on board - it would look suspicious, and there are probably concerns about the uncontrolled spread of such an audio recording. Even letting two outsiders (albeit a journalist and a National Guard) into one's fighting vehicle is already a high level of trust on the part of the Americans. And Captain Birch tells us what is allowed. He tells us about the training in general, about the specific movement operation, more about the Strykers, whose formation he leads, a little about himself in private. 27 years old, born in Kansas, but now serving for many years in an American base in Germany. He loves Europe. And many American soldiers like it. That's why they try to get an assignment abroad.

Now Europe is under threat. So we talk about that, too:

- How to stop Russia?

- Well, do you know how?

The question remains unanswered because nobody knows. At least, no one volunteers any answer. Not even the Americans. That is why the Ukraine issue is being kept firmly separate from their mission in the talks: a) what is happening in Ukraine is terrible; b) we are here to demonstrate the alliance's readiness to defend its allies, including Latvia. What would happen if, during these three weeks, while the number of allies is increasing in Latvia, a) and b) were to merge and the threat of war were to hit the Baltic States? The American captain does not know whether his unit would be involved in the event of a threat and war, of course, but no country in the alliance would be left alone against the enemy in such a situation. It is indeed a mantra that every American soldier, regardless of rank, has learned: one for all, all for one.

A bet on NATO Article 5

Article 5 of NATO is what Latvia has been betting on for years. "The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all (..)" And rightly so, as this particular Stryker armored vehicle proves. They will come and help us. Already are coming. But we also need to do more ourselves. It was only after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 that it dawned on the Latvian public, and many other European societies, that they too need to start taking more care of their own defense. Captain Birch of the American unit asks, as a courtesy, about our National Guard, how many people are there in total and in the army in general? When he hears the answer, he cannot hide his surprise. In absolute numbers, the Latvian army is indeed very compact, to say the least. In the United States, too, about one percent of the population is supposedly involved in defense, but these are, of course, incomparable figures.

The tradition of Captain Birch

As the convoy of Strykers approaches the end of the march, Captain Birch still manages to tell us that, for him personally, serving in the armed forces was a natural choice. His father was a soldier, his grandfather was a soldier. And as he approached adulthood, he didn't have to worry much about what to do with his life. An American tradition. He wasn't afraid going into his first real battle. He had prepared, trained and did what he had to do.

Latvians need that tradition too. We need more people. Probably also compulsory military service, because the defense system that is built on volunteers, cannot recruit enough people. Perhaps the introduction of national defense training in schools will improve the situation in the future. But at the moment, many young people in Latvia are not really aware of the reality that is knocking at our door. More precisely, they are prepared to look from the sidelines and watch how someone else will defend the house. Perhaps this is because the Soviet occupation broke this tradition of defending one's country. What is happening in Ukraine shows that this tradition must be restored without delay. And perhaps changes are already taking place in this respect. Interest in joining the National Guard has increased sixfold in the last few days. There they will be taught how to fight.