The National Armed Forces of Latvia and the Michigan National Guard have celebrated 31 years since the establishment of the State Partnership Program (SPP) which, alongside partnerships between the Lithuanian Armed forces and National guard of Pennsylvania, and Estonian Defence Forces and National Guard of Maryland, were amongst the first partnerships within the SPP. Today the SPP continues to grow having more than 100 participant nations.

After Latvia regained its independence from Soviet occupation in 1991, it was self-evident that Latvia was in the need of a new state defense system and sought guidance from the western-world in shaping a national guard. 

In July 1993 Lieutenant E. Gordon Stump visited Latvia and learned about the current defense situation and the Soviet influence and presence that still lingered in the air. During his visit, Stump had an opportunity to meet with the former president of Latvia, Guntis Ulmanis, who summarized his conversation with Stump stating that “the talk wasn’t about rockets and weapons. It was about how to learn- how to make a defense … and the State of Michigan had something to show.” The meeting sparked the beginning of a decades-long partnership between the two states. 

Over the 31 years of partnership, a lot has been accomplished as Michigan and Latvian troops have trained, fought, and died together. Various training exercises such as “GuardEx”, “Baltic Challenge”, “Summer Shield”, “Joint Terminal Attack Controller”, “Saber Strike”, “Northern Strike” and “Namejs” have been executed and persist to the present day; as well as various conjoined deployment missions have been completed in Liberia and Afghanistan. 

In October of 2008, Michigan and Latvian troops were sent on a joint deployment as Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLT) with NATO to Kunar province in Afghanistan, with a goal to train and prepare Afghan military personnel for their encounters with the Taliban. On May 1st, 2009, the Taliban attacked Bari Alai, which was the location where OMLT were stationed. After hours of combat, the Taliban left the area with all but two Latvians and a couple of Afghan personnel alive. In this attack, two Latvian soldiers (Voldemārs Anšēvics and Andrejs Merkuševs) and three American soldiers (Ryan C. King, James D. Pirtle, William D. Vile) were lost and their sacrifice has been remembered to this day. 

The National Armed Forces of Latvia and the Michigan National Guard partnership was no longer exclusively based on training and exchanges. They fought and died together, making their commitment to their partnership and mutual security stronger than ever. The Michigan National Guard dedicated a monument to the fallen Latvian soldiers in Afghanistan and renamed one of their streets V. Ansevics Ave to commemorate lives that were lost during their conjoined deployment.

 Lt. Gen. Leonids Kalniņš said that this loss “means we are connected by their blood, and that is the most powerful kind of friendship in the world.” The partnership is integral for both nations on many different levels, but most importantly it has established a sense of security and trust between the two participating nations.

By Liene Craft

For more information see “Michigan – Latvia 25 Years of Partnership” (2018)

Photo By: Master Sgt. Scott Thompson