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SZCZECIN, Poland – From September 5 to October 2, the Latvian Armed Forces supported by Allies from across NATO conduct the comprehensive national defence exercise Namejs 23. Organised in cooperation with Multinational Division North, the exercise brings together 8,500 soldiers from Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland and the United States alongside NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Latvia, NATO Force Integration Unit Latvia and the Canadian-helmed Task Force Latvia. 

The Namejs training exercise series has been conducted periodically since 2014. It encompasses the Latvian Armed Forces (including the National Guard as well as conscripts and reserve soldiers), state and local government institutions, non-governmental organizations and private sector representatives - all working together to strengthen Latvia's overall defence potential.

Namejs 23 is the exercise's first iteration prepared in close collaboration with Multinational Division North, the newest divisional command in the NATO Force Structure attached to the chain of command of Multinational Corps Northeast. Due to its scope, Namejs 23 has its accompanying exercises. Conducted as part of Namejs, Silver Arrow 23 is a hyper realistic simulation engaging NATO troops and the Latvian Mechanised Infantry Brigade. It allows the Alliance to work through increasing the combat readiness as well as the interoperability between all the nations within NATO.

Exercise Namejs 23 © Armīns Janiks, Gatis Dieziņš