NATO-TV

British and Estonian troops share a bond that dates back to the end of the first world war. At that time, the British Army assisted the Estonians in their fight against the Russian Bolsheviks and helped the country gain its independence. More recently, they have continued to work together in several operations and missions. One of the longest being their participation in the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan. During the deployment in Halmand, Estonian and UK troops shared tactics and practices that would help continue a long-lasting connection.

British and French troops have recently deployed to Estonia to support a multinational battlegroup, as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP). The battlegroup has participated in the last two weeks in its first major exercise, Spring Storm 2017. It is giving the British and French troops, which also share a long history of interoperability, the opportunity to strengthen their union with the Estonian Army.

NATOChannel looks into this connection between the three nations talking with Afghanistan veterans that are currently deployed to Estonia as part of NATO’s defence and deterrence measures. Footage includes aerial shots of armoured vehicles deployed in the field, as well as Estonian, British and French infantry performing drills during exercise Spring Storm in Tapa, Estonia.

Learn how NATO is helping Ukrainian service men and women combat suicide, alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Ukraine.

For the Ukrainian soldiers returning from the conflict in the east of the country, the return to civilian life after months on the frontline can be traumatic.

NATO is funding psychological rehabilitation seminars run by trained psychologists from the League of Officers – a Ukrainian organization – to give service men and women the tools they need to cope with the readjustment and recognize the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Footage includes interviews with, and various shots of, former service men and women giving accounts of their battles with combat stress and various shots of the soldiers during the psychological rehabilitation seminars.

Norwegian soldiers have arrived in Lithuania. Norway has sent around 200 troops to the country to join a multinational NATO battlegroup led by the Germans. The move is in support of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP), which has also seen the setting up of three other battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia and Poland. NATO’s eFP, decided at the Warsaw Summit in July 2016, is a response to changing security environments in the east of the Alliance.

Earlier this year NATOChannel met with Lieutenant Silje Johansen Willassen, tank commander of the Telemark Batallion, during her pre-deployment training. Now she has arrived in Lithuania along with her platoon, ready to be part of the German-led battlegroup.

From the essential pre-requisites to the final national bill of ratification, accession into NATO can be summed up in five simple steps.

Built into the very text of NATO’s founding treaty, it has always been possible for new members to join the Alliance with the unanimous agreement of all existing Allies.

The Membership Action Plan (MAP) was created to streamline the process and help countries aspiring to join NATO in their preparations for potential membership.

Now, with the most recent addition of Montenegro, NATO has grown from an original group of 12 to 29 member states.

This animation sums up the series of steps it takes for a candidate country to become a full member of NATO, recognised both nationally and internationally.

Norway will be sending a tank company to Lithuania in May to support NATO’s enhanced forward presence. The company, of around 200 troops, will be sent from Norway’s Telemark Battalion. They will provide combat support to the German-led multinational battalion. The deployment will be for six months. Commanding one of the platoons is Lieutenant Silje Johansen Willassen, Norway’s Telemark Battalion’s first female tank commander. Lieutenant Willassen discusses the deployment and how she’s looking forward to working with NATO Allies. At the NATO Warsaw Summit last year, plans were announced to increase troop numbers in the eastern part of the Alliance with the deployment of four battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland on a rotational basis. Footage includes tanks live-firing on a range and soundbites from Lieutenant Willassen.

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.

Corporal Carla Cáceres Galadis is an avionics technician in the Royal Canadian Air Force. She has a passion for life, the CF-18 aircraft she works on and her recent fiancé, to whom she became engaged while deployed in Romania.

NATO’s spearhead land force has exercised rapid deployment to NATO’s southern flank for the first time.

US air power, British troops and other NATO nations simulate coming to the aid of the Baltic States around the Suwalki Gap, if they were to be cut off from the rest of NATO.

Troops from Poland, the UK, the US and other contributing nations took part in an air insertion from US Army Chinook helicopters in and around the Suwalki Gap, which is the border area between Lithuania and Poland. Footage of multinational troops boarding and inserting from Chinooks, taking part in skirmishes in open terrain in Lithuania. Interview with the Saber Strike 2017 Exercise Director, Major General Neal Loidolt (Minnesota National Guard).

NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Lithuania demonstrate their bridge building skills and joint combat readiness during exercise Iron Wolf in Lithuania.

At one of Lithuania’s largest annual military exercises, Iron Wolf, distinguished visitors such as Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg view the combat readiness and multinational togetherness of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup situated in Lithuania. The battlegroup is led by Germany and includes troops from Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway.

The display included a bridge building exercise enabling the transport of armored vehicles across a river. As well as troops from the multinational battlegroup, the exercise also involved soldiers from 10 other NATO countries.

This version includes voiceover, music, and graphics and has no subtitles.

Major Barbancho is a Chinook pilot and Senior Staff Chief of the 5th Spanish Transport Helicopter Battalion (BHELTRA-V). During his participation in NATO’s ISAF mission in Afghanistan, he directed a heroic rescue mission after a helicopter crashed.

A movie based on this mission was released in Spain in early 2017 and Major Barbancho and his team participated in the production of the movie as advisors, trainers, movie extras and pilots of the Spanish Army helicopters used in the production.