The U.S. Army deployed its 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division to the Paladin Strike field exercise in Latvia from Aug. 5 to 8 to demonstrate coordinated land combat tactics with NATO allies.
Warfighters from Canada, Latvia, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom also participated in the exercise at the Adazi Military Camp Training Area. U.S. and British troops worked as opposing forces, while Canadian, Latvian, Romanian and Spanish infantry role-played as combined NATO elements.
“The purpose of Paladin Strike is for the NATO forward land force battlegroups to be able to exercise their command and control nodes and their communications with their allied partners attached to the battle group itself,” said U.S. Army Capt. Nicholas Olivares, the exercise’s chief communications officer.
During the maneuvers, the U.S. soldiers demonstrated the M3 Bradley cavalry fighting vehicle’s capability for reconnaissance and soldier transports to the battlefield. The Army also flew CH-47 Chinooks to carry Canadian troops.