Michigan's 46th MP Company takes part in State Partnership Exercise with Latvian Zemmessardze

By Capt. Jared Van Dop, 177th Military Police BrigadeSeptember 30, 2014

Michigan National Guard 46th MP Company takes part in State Partnership Exercise with Latvian Zemmessardze
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from the Latvian 55th Infantry Battalion prepare to remove a casualty from a downed aircraft while members of the 46th Military Police Company, Michigan Army National Guard, provide security. The training took place at the Lielvarde Air Bas... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Michigan National Guard 46th MP Company takes part in State Partnership Exercise with Latvian Zemmessardze
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Michigan National Guard 46th MP Company takes part in State Partnership Exercise with Latvian Zemmessardze
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Latvian soldiers from the 44th Infantry Battalion and Michigan Army National Guard Soldiers from the 46th Military Police Company work together to set up a perimeter during critical site security training at an airfield outside Liepaja, Latvia, Aug. ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Michigan National Guard 46th MP Company takes part in State Partnership Exercise with Latvian Zemmessardze
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Michigan National Guard and Latvian Soldiers work together to prepare firewood at a home for disenfranchised children near Tilza, Latvia, Aug. 28, 2014. The wood has to be cut to a specific size in order to be used in the school's furnace, which prov... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

RIGA, Latvia -- The 46th Military Police Company, 210th Military Police Battalion, 177th Military Police Brigade, Michigan Army National Guard, recently took part in Winds of Change, a joint State Partnership Exercise with Latvian Zemessardze (National Guard) units.

The Michigan National Guard and Latvia have a long standing relationship spanning more than 22 years, back to the very beginning of the State Partnership Program in the early 1990s.

This exercise marked a shift in focus as previous exercises mainly centered on joint training with Latvian active component forces, as compared to the Zemessardze.

The opening ceremony for the exercise took place at the Lielvarde Air Base in August and was attended by distinguished visitors such as the Latvian Minister of Defense, Raimonds Vejonis; the Latvian Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Raimonds Graube; as well as the 177th Military Police Brigade Commander, Col. Stephen Potter.

During the first phase of the exercise, the 46th MP Company trained alongside the Latvian 55th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Defence District, on numerous tasks centered on critical site security.

The exercise culminated after several days in a large scale scenario using role players and even decommissioned aircraft to add realism to the training.

"Both sides came away better than when we started and that is what it is really about," said Capt. Brice Kerschen, 46th MP Co. commander. "The 46th MP Co. was honored to be able to train side by side with the Zemessardze and would do it again given the opportunity."

Approximately 40 kilometers southeast of Lielvarde sits the Plavinas Dam near the city of Aizkraukle. The dam itself sits on the Daugava River and is the largest power plant in Latvia.

Here, senior leaders from the 46th MP Co. helped to facilitate a table top exercise between dam operators and security personnel, local law enforcement and senior leaders from the 44th Inf. Bn.

"The purpose of the exercise was to promote open communications and interoperability between the different organizations, centered on protecting infrastructure in the event of an emergency situation," said 1st Lt. Keith Lane, intelligence officer, 210th MP Bn. "This was the first exercise of this type at the Plavinas Dam."

Humanitarian projects often accompany training exercises such as this. With the training at Lielvarde and the Plavinas Dam complete, a small group of 46th MP Co. and Latvian soldiers had the opportunity to travel to the small town of Tilza, approximately 20 kilometers from the border with Russia.

Here, the group spent two days cutting and preparing firewood at a home for children. The children who live here are underprivileged, and some suffer from emotional problems as well, according to Iluta Berzisa, the Tilza Boarding School's director.

The firewood will provide heat and hot water for the home through the long winter season. The Soldiers were more than willing to help, especially Sgt. Jacob Bills whose civilian job involves cutting trees along power lines.

Berzisa described their arrival as "an unexpected and extremely welcome gift from God."

The final event during the Winds of Change exercise took place at the city of Liepaja airport on the Baltic Coast. The 46th MP Co. trained there alongside the 44th Inf. Bn., 1st Defense District, again focusing on critical site security tasks.

"Modern hybrid warfare brings us new challenges and we are the ones who must be ready to react on such situational change," said Maj. Vilmars Vecvagaris, commander, 44th Inf. Bn. "Exercise Winds of Change 2014 was exactly one of the responses to those challenges."

The airport is currently being renovated and has limited availability for aircraft use; Zemessardze leadership was able to work with airfield management to gain access to the facility for training. Use of the airport was a valuable training enabler and worked well with the critical site security tasks being trained.

Once training was completed, the 46th MP Co. loaded their gear onto a pair of KC-135 aircraft provided by the Michigan Air National Guard and prepared to go home.

"The success of the Winds of Change demonstrates that these types of State Partnership Exercises can be beneficial to all participants while simultaneously supporting USAREUR and NATO goals as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve," said Col. Stephen Potter, commander, 177th MP Bde. "Additional State Partnership Exercises are being planned between Michigan and Latvia in order to increase the readiness and operational capabilities of Latvian forces."

Related Links:

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