FROM THE FRONTLINE :
WHEELS IN MOTION
By Adam Lapsyznski ( POL ), Marta Karpinska ( POL ), MNC-NE
The soil trembles as a Spanish tank passes us . It is followed by soldiers from Latvia and Canada . All of them are members of the enhanced Forward Presence ( eFP ) Battle Group Latvia .
eFP BG Latvia was established under Canadian command following the 2016 NATO Warsaw Summit . Its aim , as well as that of its three sister Battle Groups stationed in Estonia , Lithuania and Poland , is to boost the security in the region and act as a tripwire . As such , each Battle Group alone , and all of them together , send a clear signal to every potential adversary that any act of aggression against any Ally will be met with a unified response of NATO military forces from both sides of the Atlantic .
At the turn of July and August 2017 , Lt . Gen . Manfred Hofmann , the Commander of Multinational Corps Northeast , conducted a battlefield circulation of the eFP forces . The reason for this was very simple . eFP forces are deployed to the Corps ’ Area of Operations that covers the north-eastern flank of the Alliance . As a regional
expert , MNC NE is maintaining an active role in the enhanced Forward Presence measures .
“ These actions are real !,” Lt . Gen . Manfred Hofmann stated concisely . “ Behind all the units on our digital maps are men and women who are deploying with their equipment to Eastern Europe , coming out of their European home countries or from overseas .”
Thus , it was vital for Lt . Gen . Hofmann not only to observe subordinated and supported units but to meet the soldiers in person , to learn about their progress , training , and challenges faced . The opinions gathered in the field might be beneficial for the Corps ’ Command and Control in the area should the need to defend the people of NATO ’ s eastern periphery arise .
The Battle Group Latvia Commander , Lt . Col . Wade Rutland , explained that multinationality is the key to success as each nation is bringing in something valuable in order to be effective at the battle-group level .
“ It is a challenge when looking into differ-
26LAND POWER