NATO-TV

NATO Review outlines that the war in Ukraine covers just 7% of the territory of the country, while other areas of real concern, such as hybrid attacks and a corruption-afflicted economy, affect the whole country.

Working with Latvian partners, Canadian and American soldiers experience winter conditions, training to spot enemy positions and call in indirect fire support at Adazi training grounds in Latvia, as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Soundbites from Canadian and American soldiers.

1. (00:00) VARIOUS ANGLES OF SOLDIERS FROM FIRING MORTARS AT TARGETS WHILE TRAINING AT ADAZI TRAINING GROUNDS IN LATVIA

2. (00:46) Soundbite, Staff Sergeant Salas, 2nd Cavalry Regiment

“Today we are firing, we’re supporting our Canadian and Latvia counterparts, our allies, firing mortar rounds, 120s, off the Stryker platform”

“All we’re doing is supporting and rehearsing with their forward observers to ensure that they’re all copacetic with the way they’re firing and getting used to firing together, just being able to understand the different dialects, different languages obviously. Weather is one big one, ‘cause it’s very cold out here. It might not look cold but it definitely is cold.”

3. (01:20) INFANTEERS FROM THE 3RD BATTALION OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT (3RCR) WATCH ENEMY POSITIONS AT ADAZI TRAINING GROUNDS IN LATVIA

4. (01:31) Soundbite, Infanteer from The 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment (3RCR) speaks from his observation position at Adazi training ground, Latvia

“We just saw two enemy vehicles mounted with MGs in the back, approximately 3 pers per vehicle. They came out from over there moving to the left, dropped off some targets, which will be our notional enemy for us and then they took off.”

Fellow infanteer interjects

“What’s really important when you’re giving out grids like this and stuff like that is you have other OPs that are set at the bottom, so you need to give them a heads up over the radio that they might be coming their way. So a good direction would be “they’re coming in from the south heading east”, right? We’re further south, they’re heading to the east, so heading towards our other call sign, so it would be good to know that it might, at a certain point, these vehicles might cross their arch so they could have a good visual on them.”

5. (02:15) Voice over radio – “I can hear Wolfpack 86 loud and clear, but he can not hear me”

Canadian infanteer says to fellow infanteer, “Wolfpack!” “See, they get cool names.” “Mm-mm”

#END#

Blood Brothers? is a 25-minute documentary made with unique archive images from the Lithuanian national broadcaster, LRT. In it, NATO Review Magazine talks to Lithuanians to find out how they managed to take such a different path, how close they came to Ukraine’s fate, and what advice they would give to Ukrainians today. We hear from those who were on the frontline of Lithuania’s 1990 revolution – including the newsreader who was taken off air by Soviet forces during a broadcast – through to those assisting Ukrainians on the frontline today.

Blood Brothers? is a 25-minute documentary made with unique archive images from the Lithuanian national broadcaster, LRT. In it, NATO Review Magazine talks to Lithuanians to find out how they managed to take such a different path, how close they came to Ukraine’s fate, and what advice they would give to Ukrainians today. We hear from those who were on the frontline of Lithuania’s 1990 revolution – including the newsreader who was taken off air by Soviet forces during a broadcast – through to those assisting Ukrainians on the frontline today.

As the 13-year ISAF mission ends, international forces are not leaving Afghanistan but are in fact staying for Resolute Support, which involves training, advising and assisting Afghan forces.

There’s just a month to go now before NATO begins a new mission in Afghanistan. Resolute Support as it’s known, or RSM, will focus on training, advising and assisting the security ministries of the Afghan government and the senior staff of the Afghan National Security Forces. This piece includes soundbites from Deputy Commander of ISAF Joint Command Major General Richard Nugee and the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations, Stephen Evans.

British Royal Air Force Tornadoes have taken off for the last time in Afghanistan. 31 Squadron is heading home after doing four tours in-country in recent years. Their very first tour in Afghanistan was in 1919, the Third Anglo-Afghan War. This piece includes sound bites from 31 Squadron personnel talking about the history of the Squadron, the end of their deployment in Afghanistan and the capability of the Tornado GR4 as an aircraft. This version includes graphics and voiceover.

NATO Review looks inside the KGB prison where Latvians were locked up, tortured or killed. We hear how today's leading Latvians were affected by Soviet occupation. And we ask if they see echoes in today's Russian aggression.

NATO AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) is the only platform which is owned by an alliance (and not a country), a proof of concept for NATO itself. Sixteen different nations working together provide air traffic control for airspace above Afghanistan, making sure the numerous military and civilian flights that take place do not interfere with each other. Interviews with various crew members, who explain the various functions of the AWACS. Shots of the AWACS plane in flight over north western Afghanistan, including shots of the plane on the ground at Camp Marmal in Mazar-e Sharif and returning to its base in Geilenkirchen, Germany.

The age of the railway passed Afghanistan by. But today, the country celebrates a new 75 kilometer long cargo line running from Uzbekistan through the border town of Hairatan to the city of Mazar in Balkh province. This version includes voiceover and graphics.