NATO-TV

A group of new Special Forces recruits prepare for a selection process that will determine their professional future. Tested to the limits both physically and mentally, not all of them will make it through without quitting, but those that do, will become Latvia’s elite soldiers.

Formed in the early nineties, just after the country won its independence, the Latvian Special Forces, like those in other countries, are considered elite soldiers. Their operations include counter-terrorism, search and rescue, sea landings, underwater missions, attack and detention, and airborne operations.

Part 3 of 3, Special Forces selection: The brave man wins. The recruits who have passed the phobia tests must survive alone in the woods for nine days with nothing but a live rabbit.

Formed in the early nineties just after the country won its independence, the Latvian Special Forces like those in other countries, are considered elite soldiers. Their operations include counter-terrorism, search and rescue, sea landings, underwater missions, attack and detention, and airborne operations.

New Special Forces recruits at a military training facility outside Riga start the selection phase of their recruitment and must complete a number of tasks designed to test them both physically and mentally. Not all of them will make it through the course without quitting.

In the first part of this three-part series, the recruits are introduced to their new surroundings.

Footage includes interviews with some of the recruits and instructors, and footage of the recruits during the various tests.

U.S. fighter jets being catapulted from and landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman. Footage includes cutaways of the ship’s command deck and stationary aircraft maneuvering around deck. The footage was filmed mid-December.

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman is on a U.S. mission supporting the fight against ISIS. The ship is home to 70 fighter jets and more than 5,000 crew.

US troops travel from Germany to Poland to train with Polish soldiers in the use of Patriot Missiles and improve ground to air defense. The exercise, called Panther Assurance, received a visit from Antoni Macierewicz, the Polish Minister of Defense, who emphasized the importance of increasing Poland’s defense budget to protect NATO’s eastern flank. Footage includes various shots of Polish and US troops working together during the exercise.

In western Poland, Polish and US troops train in the use of Patriot missiles, improving ground to air defense on NATO’s eastern flank. Poland has pledged to spend $42 billion on defense over the next decade.

NATO’s ability to gather information and fuse intelligence from multiple sources over space, air, sea and land has just reached an important milestone. On Wednesday (10 February 2016), the NATO Secretary General welcomed the statement by Defense Ministers on the Initial Operating Capability for Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.

“We, the Allied Defense Ministers, have today declared the initial operational capability for NATO's Joint, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance initiative. This achievement follows up to the commitments that our nations made at the Chicago Summit and subsequently reaffirmed at the Wales Summit.” the Ministers declared, stressing that “JISR will maximize the resources we have at hand already, both in NATO and in individual Allies: enhanced inter-connectivity across our system, more training and expertise among our personnel, and lead to better procedures for information handling and sharing. All these improvements will ultimately contribute to a better informed and more watchful Alliance. JISR stands ready to support rapid decision making across several major lines of effort, including the Readiness Action Plan, our strategy on hybrid warfare, and our overall deterrence posture.”

Providing the right information to decision-makers and action-takers is vital for all military operations. While surveillance and reconnaissance can answer the questions “what,” “when” and “where”, the combined information from various intelligence sources and disciplines provide the answers to “how” and “why.” When all of this is combined, you create Joint ISR. NATO JISR has just reached the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) that means promoting and enabling data sharing within the NATO Response force.

Since the beginning of the antiterrorist operation in Ukraine in April 2014, more than 49,000 mines and improvised explosive devices have been neutralized. At a demining centre in Kamianets-Podilskyi, a town in the west of Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers train mine detector dogs to deal with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the combat zone, and troops from NATO nations work with Ukrainian soldiers to improve the techniques and strategies used to deal with this problem.

In Catania, Italy, eight nations – France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US – carry out anti-submarine warfare training in the Ionian Sea. This involves cooperation between air, surface and subsurface assets.

Footage includes – aerial shots of the exercise, shots on board Greek submarine, various shots from Naval Air Station, Sigonella.

It’s a game of cat and mouse in the Ionian Sea as eight nations - France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US – practice anti-submarine warfare as part of NATO exercise Dynamic Manta. But who will win? The cat, or the mouse?

Meet the men and women who work every day for NATO. From soldiers to scientists, cyber experts to civilian emergency responders, NATO members are committed to supporting and protecting each other.

Teaser: Commander Daniel Moise, a pilot in the Romanian Air Force, is second in command of the 86 Operational Group of the 86th Air Base in Feteşti. He’s in charge of organizing flights, missions and flight drills of his group. He’s also partial to a spot of 70's hard rock.

Ever since the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, tensions have been rising in the Black Sea. NATO and its allies have continued to provide an enhanced forward presence, with significant maritime power and ongoing support and training for the Ukrainian armed forces. Dramatic footage of the first ever US Marine amphibious landing in Ukraine, alongside footage of US Navy ships operating in the Black Sea. Teaser: US Marines perform their first ever amphibious landing in Ukraine alongside their Ukrainian allies in the Black Sea.

Ever since the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, tensions have been rising in the Black Sea. NATO and its allies have continued to provide an enhanced forward presence, with significant maritime power and ongoing support and training for the Ukrainian armed forces. Dramatic footage of the first ever US Marine amphibious landing in Ukraine, alongside footage of US Navy ships operating in the Black Sea. Teaser: US Marines perform their first ever amphibious landing in Ukraine alongside their Ukrainian allies in the Black Sea.