May 31 2021

Visit of Latvian Minister of Defense, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Artis PaBriks to STRIKFORNATO

Oeiras, Portugal – The Latvian Minister of Defense, Dr Artis Pabriks, was welcomed by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) Deputy Commander, Rear Admiral James Morley, to the STRIKFORNATO headquarters, May 31, 2021.

During the visit, Rear Admiral Morley had the opportunity to brief Dr Pabriks on the main ongoing projects and activities within the headquarters, and to explain how STRIKFORNATO is commanding and controlling the At-Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 2021 Exercise from its Joint Operations Centre (JOC).

STRIKFORNATO is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) organization, composed of thirteen NATO nations: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the U.K. and U.S. Even though Latvia is not a member of the STRIKFORNATO MOU, it remains a strong ally to the STRIKFORNATO headquarters and supports STRIKFORNATO in various exercises throughout the year.

STRIKFORNATO is a rapidly deployable and scalable headquarters capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint maritime operations and providing command and control of maritime Ballistic Missile Defence. As part of this mission, STRIKFORNATO is responsible for the integration of U.S. capital maritime and amphibious forces into NATO operations to provide assurance, deterrence, and collective defence for the Alliance.