Saha Expo International Defense Exhibition Turkey Istanbul

U.S. Army soldiers of 68th Armor Regiment conducted live firing with M1A2 Abrams tanks in Latvia 11607171

Armies in the world - U.S. Army

U.S. Army soldiers of 68th Armor Regiment conducted live firing with M1A2 Abrams tanks in Latvia.

U.S. Army soldiers from Company C (Chaos), 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., conducted their last platoon live-fire exercise with M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks in Adazi Military Base, Latvia, April 14.

Soldiers from Company C (Chaos), 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., fire from a M1A2 Abrams on a range in Adazi Military Base, Latvia, April 14.

The live fire was a portion of the overall exercise, a speed of assembly drill. Abrams tanks from Chaos Company, presently located in Tapa, Estonia, moved into Latvia and within 48 hours, were participating in a live-fire exercise.

The 3rd ABCT is deployed to eastern Europe for Operation Atlantic Resolve, a U.S. led NATO endeavor to ensure peace by deterring aggressive actions in the region. They are able to rapidly deploy and act decisively in a crisis.

The exercise featured multiple vehicles and weapons system, from the Abrams with sabot rounds to a Humvee (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) with a mounted machine gun.

The land provided by the Latvians was not considered a range but a maneuver area, said Staff Sgt. William Paul Gunther III, the battalion tank master gunner for 1st Bn. 68th Armor Reg.

Although preparing to depart Adazi in the upcoming months, 1st Bn. 68th Armor Reg, will be replaced by 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, Alberta. The 1 PPCLI will be preparing to lead Latvia in NATO's latest operation, Enhanced Forward Presence, which features four multinational battalion battle groups in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Photo By Sgt. Shiloh Capers | Lt. Col. Stephen Capehart, the battalion commander for 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., climbs onto his Abrams on a range in Adazi Military Base, Latvia, April 14.