Home  /  Newsroom  /  News  /  2022  /  Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Latvia welcomes new Commander

SZCZECIN, Poland - For the next six months, Lieutenant Colonel Craig Higgins of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry will command NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Latvia. LTC Higgins assumed command of the multinational battlegroup from LTC Jesse van Eijk in a ceremony held on December 13, 2022, at Camp Ādaži, Kadaga, Latvia. 

Task Force Latvia Commander Colonel Vince Kirstein, pictured left, oversees the Change of Command ceremony on December 13, 2022, at Camp Ādaži, Latvia, where Lieutenant Colonel Craig Higgins, pictured right, is appointed the Commanding Officer of NATO's enhanced Force Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Latvia / Photo by Sergeant First Class Jesus Aguilera, Spanish Army

This is an incredible opportunity and a unique time in history to be part of this operation. I am looking forward to leading and working alongside the ten other nations that comprise the Battlegroup, said LTC Higgins.

The focus for the next few months for the battlegroup will be preparing for NATO validation in March during exercise Crystal Arrow. This exercise will confirm the efficiency of the multinational battlegroup in conducting combat manoeuvres with Allied units within the Latvian Mechanised Infantry Brigade. "Our goal leading up to the exercise is to ensure all of our companies have the ability to work with other nations to effectively and efficiently conduct tactical operations," explained LTC Higgins. “Exercise Crystal Arrow will further solidify our battlegroup and our participating contingents can operate together successfully.”

With Canada as the Framework Nation, eFP Battlegroup Latvia, which was established in 2017, is made up of over 1,200 soldiers from 10 nations including Albania, Canada, Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. With multinational leadership and support, forces from all sending nations are enabled to come together and effectively work as one team under the Latvian Mechanized Infantry Brigade Group to deter and, if necessary, defend the people of Latvia from any potential aggression.  

Colonel Sandris Gaugers, Commander Latvia's Mechanised Infantry Brigade, puts LTC Higgins in command of NATO's enhanced Force Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Latvia in a Change of Command ceremony held on December 13, 2022, at Camp Ādaži, Latvia / Photo by Sergeant First Class Jesus Aguilera, Spanish Army

Chief Warrant Officer Mike Vollick, pictured middle, is appointed the Sergeant Major of NATO's enhanced Force Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Latvia in a Change of Command ceremony that was held December 13, 2022, at Camp Ādaži in Ādaži, Latvia.