As COVID-19 upends other missions, Canadian troops in Latvia are continuing military training to protect eastern Europe from Russian aggression.
OTTAWA -- On a recent day in Latvia, a group of Canadian soldiers left a military base near the capital city of Riga. The column drove about 30 kilometres where they set up and, at one point over the next couple of days, fought back a simulated attack before packing up and returning home.
"There is still an ongoing situation. Yes, it is probably not as tense as it used to be. ... But at the same time we are in a situation where we shouldn't relax and we shouldn't get complacent. That is something that the alliance understands and our Canadian friends understand." The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Canadian Armed Forces to suspend or scale back its operations around the world, including in Ukraine and Iraq where the military has been training local forces. Thousands of military personnel have been told to stay home in Canada.
"But we are getting out," said Col. Eric Laforest, the commander of the battlegroup, which includes troops from eight other NATO nations. "Training keeps on going as you would suspect with the full battlegroup of nine nations and the training just goes as planned.
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