RUKLA, Lithuania - The Czech contingent from the enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Lithuania is back to base after participating in Latvian exercise Namejs 2018 from Aug. 20 to Sep. 2, 2018.

For 2 weeks, 10,000 personnel from 13 NATO nations took part in mobility training, readiness and interoperability. It was the largest of its kind ever conducted in Latvia and took place in every region of the country.

The Czech Mechanised Infantry Company brought around 180 troops and 15 Pandur-II Infantry Fighting Vehicles from Rukla to Latvia to take part in various exercise scenarios. Their mission included extensive manoeuvering with vehicles all around Latvia, which proved to be a good test of the units' capabilities.

"Like we predicted, the constant manoeuvering from one place to another, which our role in the exercise required, was one of our main challenges, but the troops did very well," said Lieutenant Colonel Jiří Líbal, commander of the Czech unit in Lithuania.

Lieutenant Colonel René Braun, commander of the eFP Battlegroup in Lithuania, was pleased with the Czech participation in Namejs 2018. "This was the first time for the eFP Battlegroup to participate with a whole company in an exercise outside Lithuania. On all levels, there were a lot of lessons learned, especially in logistics and interoperability. In the end, it was a great display of unity and cooperation within the Baltic States and a common understanding of staying together and showing strength in a powerful NATO mindset."