Why NATO Gave Canada Its Most Dangerous Job In Latvia

The Canadian military itself was on combat alert when, on February 24, 2022, in the early morning hours, the Russians invaded Ukraine, and Canadian forces, based at Camp Adazi in Latvia, had to do the same only 150 miles (240 kms) from the Russian border. NATO in 2016 decided to create an enhanced Forward Presence to ensure the most vulnerable eastern frontiers of NATO, and NATO did not give the lead in Latvia to the United States, Britain or France. Canada instead was selected for the framework country, for an exposed battle group of several nations with the enemy numbers many times that of the Canadians. The Canadian-led force at Camp Adazi, a forward tripwire meant to ensure collective defense as outlined in Article 5 has transformed into a huge big change. After the 2022 NATO Madrid Summit, the mission was changed from a battalion level deterrent force to a multinational brigade with the capability to engage in combat. This paradigm change from the deterrence-by-punishment approach to deterrence-by-denial ultimately meant that the Canadian Armed Forces were forced to move away from two decades of counter-insurgency operations back to high-intensity conventional deterrence. This video looks at the strategic context of the Baltic corridor, NATO's most sensitive front, the multinational integration at Camp Adazi and what Canadian soldiers are doing to hold the line in the east. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - February 2022: Alert at Camp Adazi 02:15 - Tank Country: The Strategic Vulnerability of Latvia 05:30 - Warsaw 2016: Why NATO Chose Canada The Multinational Battle Group at Adazi is being built, 09:10.09:10 - Building the Multinational Battle Group at Adazi. 13:15 - Ukraine Invasion and Madrid Summit Pivot This lesson discusses the transition from Tripwire Battle Group to Brigade and how to scale up. The programme will include an interview with a member of the NATO military. 26:00 - Relearning Conventional Warfare After Afghanistan 31:15 - The Human Cost and the Realities of Deployment 35:40 - The Invisible Success of Deterrence There was no reliable written record of the event.There is no known written history of the event. The mission overview for the National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) - Operation REASSURANCE.The National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) - Operation REASSURANCE Official Mission Overview. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-reassurance.html 2. NATO Enhanced Forward Presence - Multinational Brigade Latvia Factsheet: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_136388.htm Reasonable suggestions for reinforcing deterrence on NATO's Eastern Flank by David A. Shlapak and Michael W. Johnson (2016) RAND® Corporation Research Report®. The “Our North, Strong and Free - A Renewed Vision for Canadas Defence” (Defence of Canada 2024) is the Department of National Defence's (DND) vision paper.The Department of National Defence (DND) vision paper is called “Our North, Strong and Free - A Renewed Vision for Canadas Defence” (2024). Government of Canada. 5. Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia - Comprehensive National Defence and Allied Presence: https://www.mod.gov.lv/en ABOUT CANADIANS AT WAR Canadians at War's mission is to save, record and remember the service, strategic management and operational efforts of Canadian military members globally. Help us to continue Canadian military history and defence analysis by subscribing. Take part in the discussion: How does Canada's leadership in Latvia change the role of the Canadian Armed Forces in NATO? Give your opinion below in the comments. #CanadianMilitary #OperationREASSURANCE #NATO #CanadianArmy #Latvia #MilitaryHistory #CampAdazi #HistoryDocumentary