Estonian Artillery Conscripts Head to Latvia for Weeklong Exercise
Late Tuesday night, 140 artillery battalion members of the Defense Forces, accompanied by howitzers, set off for international exercise Summer Shield 2014 at the Adaži artillery range in Latvia. .
Lt. Col. Kaarel Mäesalu, the commander of the artillery battalion, said the conscripts in artillery units are taking part in an international exercise for the first time since re-independence, which entails great amount responsibility for the group.
In Summer Shield, Defense Forces members will work on fire support planning and integrating various fire support means for supporting the infantry battalion's combat operations.
The exercise will involve more than 600 people, and will include the Latvian Defense Forces and the Zemessardze, the United State Marine Corps, and Estonian and Lithuanian defense forces units. The exercise will run until April 17.
The battalion convoys got going at 11 p.m. from Tapa and moved into position in an all-night process that wound up at 8 a.m. today.