Tri-Service
NATO Troops Practise Air Insertions
Canadian troops have joined Latvian, German, US and Lithuanian forces to practice tactical air insertions and extractions.
The manoeuvres are part of the Summer Shield NATO exercise in Latvia.
Video has been released by NATO showing Canadian and US troops rappelling from helicopters and being extracted using rope and harnesses during the two-week long exercise.
Canadian Armed Forces Warrant Officer James Bissonnette said:
“The point is to insert fast, a small quantity of guys somewhere where the enemy wouldn’t suspect you’re coming from. So you can go, come in, get out.”
But it’s not just not just the ability to enter the combat arena quickly that counts as Captain Mark Ruben explained:
“The flipside to a quick insertion is a quick extraction… The helicopter will fly off and the soldiers will follow in tow attached to the rope.”
“This technique is used to extract soldiers from a danger zone quickly and bring them a relatively short distance away.”
"It’s important that we’re here because we want our allies to know that Canada takes its responsibility to NATO very seriously.”
1,300 NATO troops are taking part in Summer Shield, more than double the 600 soldiers who took part in the same drill in 2014.
The exercises are taking place in the village of Adazi, northeast of the capital Riga.
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