2006 Press Releases
United States-Latvia Logistics Information Exchange
Riga, March 20, 2006. -- Representatives of the Latvian Ministry of Defense and several civil ministries will participate in a four-day United States - Latvia Logistics Information Exchange, beginning Tuesday, 21 March. The Exchange, which will conclude on Friday, brings together logistics experts from Latvia�s Ministry of Defense, Armed Forces, and several civil ministries to meet with representatives of a U.S.-based company, LMI, that is conducting the Exchange for the U.S. Department of Defense. The Exchange will consist of two separate two-day workshops. The first session will focus on the logistical aspects of supporting Latvian Armed Forces contingents in future NATO operations. During this first session, participants will discuss the challenges of deploying and sustaining Latvian contingents in expeditionary operations.
The second session, beginning on Thursday, will focus on inter-ministerial cooperation, communication, and coordination. During this session, representatives of several government ministries and the Ministry of Defense will discuss the challenges associated with inter-ministerial activities.
In both sessions participants will reinforce procedures and policies associated with current NATO-related activities.
The Exchange will feature a combination of formal presentations on NATO logistics and related topics by U.S. and Latvian participants and practical application exercises. During the practical application portions, participants will discuss:
- support and deployment requirements for a hypothetical out-of area NATO peace support operation; and
- host nation support arrangements.
The co-directors of the Exchange look forward to a vigorous and wide-ranging exchange of information on the logistic challenges of supporting peace support operations and improving inter-ministerial coordination, especially in providing host nation support or responding to other crises. It is expected that participants will share lessons learned from Latvia�s participation in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and discuss alternative ways of providing and coordinating host nation support. The co-directors also look forward to discussing the role of Latvia�s civil ministries in supporting military operations and identifying future areas of logistic cooperation between Latvia, the United States, and NATO.