Approximately 100 soldiers from CFB Shilo will be headed to Latvia at the end of the month as part of NATO's commitment to defend the Baltic country.

The Canadian Armed Forces announced Saturday in a press release that the soldiers, equipment and support vehicles will head to Latvia to join the Canadian-led enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battlegroup as “a clear demonstration of Allied solidarity, determination and ability to defend Latvia’s population and territory against any possible aggression.”

The personnel and their equipment – which will include four M777 howitzer guns – will support the military exercises of US Army Europe, NATO’s eFP battlegroup and other NATO allies. The artillery battery will provide indirect fire during major training events including Exercise Silver Arrow, a Latvian-led NATO exercise scheduled for October. When not required for training, the equipment will be stored in the Canadian compound at Camp Adazi, a Latvian military base just outside of the capital of Riga.

The artillery battery and support personnel are from the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, garrisoned at CFB Shilo near Brandon, and are expected to leave by the end of the month with advance elements departing late this week.

“The deployment of equipment and personnel to support exercise in Latvia is an outstanding opportunity for the Canadian Armed Forces to enhance the training environment of the battlegroup and demonstrates our robust interoperability within the Alliance,” said Lt.-Gen Steve Bowes, Commander, Canadian Joint Operations Command in a press release.

The deployment is part of Operation Reassurance, a multi-national NATO mission aimed at discouraging Russian aggression in central and eastern Europe. In June, Canada deployed 450 troops to lead the battlegroup of soldiers from five other NATO countries: Italy, Spain, Poland, Slovenia and Albania.