#latvian camouflage

[misfitwashere]

The 3 Baltic States — Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — are all very much aware that they are Putin’s next target if he wins in Ukraine. So they are understandably nervous about our election, as their future is at stake as much as ours.

We just wound up a 10-day trip to the Baltic capitals — Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn — and are now in Helsinki, so I thought it a good time to report on what I saw and heard.

One local quoted to us Putin’s 2005 claim that the collapse of the Soviet empire “was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”. Not World War I, or World War II, or the Holocaust, and certainly not Stalin’s planned famines, but the breakup of the Russian/Soviet Empire. He means to restore it, including not just Ukraine but the Baltic States. And Byelorussia — but he already owns it in all but name. And Central Asia, and Poland, and anything else he can. He wants to make Russia as powerful, as respected, and as feared, as the old Soviet Union was.

The Baltic states are doing more than watching Russia in Ukraine; they are acting. All 3 states, but especially Lithuania (being the closest) have taken in many many Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainian flags fly on official buildings in all 3 capitals, and in many other places. I didn’t get a chance to visit the Russian embassy in Vilnius, but in Riga and Tallinn, there are protest signs and messages — some quite nasty — in front of and facing the embassies there. (See the photo on top for an example.)

These are not exactly actions calculated to make the Russian bear play nice. Putin already hates the Baltic states, Lithuania in particular, because their declarations of independence in 1991 are what helped trigger the final breakup of the old Soviet Union. (It’s more complicated, but that’s a decent short summary.) Yet the Lithuanians, the Latvians, the Estonians are speaking and acting in ways that will anger Putin even more. Their love of freedom, pride in their heritage, and sense of responsibility all demand it of them. In one city, we visited volunteers making camouflage netting for Ukrainian soldiers, and even helped (or tried to help) weave a few strands. More important than trying to help, though, was our showing up, hearing their stories, and encouraging them to persevere. They are spending as much as 5% of their GDP on their defense (the exact numbers are not clear). They are preparing for war. One expert told us that it is an open secret that their plan is to hold out for 72 hours, long enough for the West to respond.

Which we will be obliged to do. All 3 nations have been members of NATO since 2004, and entitled to Article 5 protection which proclaims that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all, and that all will respond to such an attack with all means necessary, including armed force.

This is why I called the Baltic States the canary in the coal mine in my title. They are members of NATO, while Ukraine is not. If Putin attacks any of them, the United States is obligated to come to their defense. Putin is very well aware of this, and so will only attack if he has calculated that we will not respond as we ought. When we read reports about Russian interference in our elections, we must understand what Putin is trying to accomplish: the destruction of NATO so that it will not be able to respond when he invades a NATO ally like Lithuania, or Latvia, or Estonia.

We are with a group of Americans and not supposed to discuss US politics, but I managed several private talks with locals, including a diplomatic contact. All of them are very aware of our upcoming election and very concerned about what it will mean for them if Trump manages somehow to regain power. They know very well what he’s had to say about our NATO responsibilities.

The US has generally been fortunate in its wars (the Civil War being a major exception). We have not had to fight on our home ground; when we go to war, we fight on other people’s land. That allows an illusion of safety which we can no longer afford. It’s not just the missile threat; it’s cyber threats and terrorism. A Latvian reporter for the New York Times wrote the other day about how Putin is able to reach out anywhere in the world to attack individuals who oppose him (or who even decline to support him by joining the army): Putin Is Doing Something Almost Nobody Is Noticing

There are also the hundreds of thousands of Russians who left home because they did not want to have anything to do with Vladimir Putin’s war or were forced out, accused of not embracing it enough. These low-profile dissenters are subjected to surveillance and kidnappings, too. Yet their repression happens in silence, away from the spotlight and often with the tacit consent or inadequate prevention of the countries to which they have fled. It’s a terrifying thing: The Kremlin is hunting down ordinary people across the world, and nobody seems to care.

One cannot travel to the Baltic States without becoming aware of just how fragile our freedoms really are. ALL our freedoms — for if the Baltic States fall, so too will the rest of Europe, and so too will we. It is critical to defeat Trump and elect Harris for many reasons, including reproductive rights, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to dissent, freedom to think. In addition to that, it is critical to stop Trump in order to stop Putin (with the recognition that Putin will still keep trying even if he fails to put Trump in power). In the United States, this can seem a bit abstract. Here in the Baltic States, it is much more immediate and real.

[military1st]

The Latvian Armed Forces during Operation Northern Strike 2014 near Rogers City, Michigan.

The U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Scott Thompson (2014).

[bethshistoricaldresses]

Coat, ca. 1860. Latvian The ultimate luxury of the North was wintry warmth achieved in the white-on-white harmony of a textural eiderdown coat. A luxurious camouflage in the monochromatic landscape of the season, this coat anticipates a later version worn by Czarina Alexandra. #history #museumcollection #antiquetextile #instamuseum #museumoninstagram #antique #historicaldress #costumehistory #fashion #historicalfashion #historicalclothing #dresshistory #fashionhistory #historicalcostume #fashionhistorian #19thcentury #19thcenturyfashion  #fashionexhibition #fashioncuration #fashionmuseum #dressmuseum #costumemuseum #historyofcostume #historyoffashion #historyofdress #coat Source: The MET https://www.instagram.com/p/CYGeTxXADjr/?utm_medium=tumblr

[camouflagedofficial-blog]

When you're having fun, best ones come out just naturally. Always have fun!!! . . #camouflaged #mensfashion #fitting #day #model #streetwear #black #outfit #style #ootd #free #fun #day #swag #fashion #selfie #photooftheday #office #english #southafrican #american #latvian #friends #goodday #korean #designer #design #teaser #collection #usa @benjjarviss @singleton_erich @holdendent @arnis_cielava (at Seoul, South Korea)

[archatlas]

Hi archy was wondering if you have any recommendations regarding the typology for building extensions?

Here are some recent examples of building extensions. Each of them takes a different attitude towards the original structure. Some extensions are obviously meant to be new and different, some are hidden or camouflaged by the original structure and others wrap around the existing structure creating something new.

Lillehammer Art Museum and Lillehammer Cinema Expansion Snøhetta

Lambeth Marsh House Fraher Architects

Community of Municipalities’ Offices Atelier du Pont

Antwerp Port House Zaha Hadid Architects

Latvian Museum of Art Processoffice and Andrius Skiezgelas Architecture

Trollbeads House BBP Arkitekter

[arnoldschwanke]

POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s

The Heckler & Koch G36s for the Latvian National Guard is appearing. As recently as January, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) signed and announced a framework agreement with a purchase contract with Heckler & Koch for G36s rifles. Below: Looks like their camouflage is pretty effective in this type of surroundings. Latvia was given Ak4 […]

Read More …

The post POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

from The Firearm Blog http://ift.tt/2oNJ4zT

[daltechforce]

POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s

The Heckler & Koch G36s for the Latvian National Guard is appearing. As recently as January, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) signed and announced a framework agreement with a purchase contract with Heckler & Koch for G36s rifles. Below: Looks like their camouflage is pretty effective in this type of surroundings. Latvia was given Ak4 […]

Read More …

The post POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

from The Firearm Blog http://ift.tt/2oNJ4zT via IFTTT

[seekammo]

POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s

The Heckler & Koch G36s for the Latvian National Guard is appearing. As recently as January, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) signed and announced a framework agreement with a purchase contract with Heckler & Koch for G36s rifles. Below: Looks like their camouflage is pretty effective in this type of surroundings. Latvia was given Ak4 […]

Read More …

The post POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

from The Firearm Blog http://ift.tt/2oNJ4zT via IFTTT

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

Canada's Leadership In NATO

By Vincent J. Curtis

Before the July 10-11 NATO conference, Prime Minister Justine Trudeau let it be known that Canada planned to “extend its leadership” in Latvia for several more years. He would “deliver a strong message of solidarity” during a visit to that country.

Before the announcement, Canada was scheduled to end its commitment of 450 troops in Latvia in the spring of 2019. The new commitment will see a presence of 540 troops until at least 2023.

Presently, Canada spends 134 million dollars per year on the Latvian deployment. For that much dough, it is fair to ask: how many thousand medium- and heavy-machine guns have been sent to Latvia? How many thousand medium and heavy anti-tank weapons? How many hundreds of guns? What about air defence against helicopters and fast-movers? 

Has ammunition sufficient to sustain thirty days of heavy, continuous battle been stockpiled? How many battle positions have been surveyed, roughed in, and camouflaged? How much digging has been done to harden Latvia’s defenses from a surprise bolt from the blue?

Has serious war-gaming of a Russian invasion taken place?

Those are some of the measures that take the Russian imperial threat seriously. Instead we see Canada contributing half a battalion to a “battle group” that includes soldiers from Albania, Slovakia, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the Czech Republic. The best will in the world couldn’t hold together a “battle group” so composed that was under serious onslaught. 

We see press releases that speak of the creation of a ‘divisional’ headquarters for the three NATO “battle groups” operating in the three Baltic States. It is supposed to be established in Riga, the capital of Latvia; and Canada’s contribution would be of staff officers.

It’s great that NATO would deploy a forward divisional headquarters, except that it quickly will morph from a tactical entity to a political-bureaucratic assemblage, like NATO headquarters itself, or some UN peacekeeping mission HQ. Latvia would be crazy to subordinate its national defence to a NATO forward headquarters that would have to ask the permission of main NATO HQ to fire back. It is quite possible that in the midst of confusion, NATO will wait long enough for serious, tactically devastating, inroads to have occurred in Latvia before issuing the order to resist.

With the drive to bureaucratize NATO’s commitment to the Baltic States, the effort takes on the appearance of a UN peacekeeping mission, which tries to crush the problem under the weight of time and bureaucratic processes. This presents cobwebs against a real onslaught. Peacekeeping missions work when each antagonist lacks the strength to overwhelm the other, and both sides are looking for a face-saving way out of a trial of strength – like Sinai from 1956 to 1967, or Cyprus from 1964 to the present. In Afghanistan, the Taliban lack the power to overwhelm tiny ISAF, and they aren’t winning the endurance battle either.

Russia, however, is a powerful country, and it would be easy for her, at a time of her choosing, to project her military strength against the weak Baltic States. That she has not yet is due to the decisions made by President Vladimir Putin, who isn’t going to risk his prestige on anything less than a sure thing.

Building up NATO’s combat power generally is one form of deterrence against attack. Granting Russia and Putin the prestige he thinks they deserve could be another, indirect, form, and that explains why Trump met with Putin in Helsinki right after castigating NATO countries about inadequate spending.

The NATO effort in the Baltics cannot crush a problem under the weight of bureaucracy. Its purpose must be to decline battle – by turning the Baltic States into such tough and time-consuming nut to crack that their defences won’t be tested. A real sign of leadership by Canada in the Baltics would be to demand more firepower and less bureaucracy.

[zerokilleroppel]

United Kingdom (1917-18) Heavy tank – Built Mk V 400, Mk V* 645, Mk V** 25

A Mark V**, featuring improved tracks, engine and other minor improvements. Only 25 were completed after the war.

The Tank Mark V was the last and largest British tank produced during the war. Born as a very advanced project, it ended up as an enhanced Mark IV. Together with its derivatives, the Mark V* and V**, around 1,070 were completed by March 1919.

A brand new design

The Mark IV was an efficient model, but many issues shown by war experience had still to be solved by mid-1917. A new design, studied by William Tritton, was ready within days, incorporating a set of brand new features, including a new hull, improved transmission, engine and steering system. But while a wooden mock-up was built, industrial priorities dictated a radical turn.

When it appeared that the new transmission and steering system originally planned for the Mark IV were ready for production, the War Cabinet decided to urgently built this improvement of the Mark IV, renamed Mark V. Some features of the original new design will be implemented in the post-war variants of the Mark V.

Mark V tank wooden mock-up ready for inspection 23rd June 1917 at the factory

The Mark V kept all the external features of the Mark IV including the hull, rollers and tracks in order not to disrupt production. However a new, more powerful drive-train and transmission were ready at the beginning of 1917 and tests ordered by William Stern were conducted on modified Mark IVs.

The easy way to identify a Mark V tank from a MkIV tank is that it has a rear commanders cab. This is missing from the wooden Mk V tank mock-up but a machine gun has been mounted in a smaller cab at the rear.

The hull was fitted with a second rear cabin with observation slits and hinged sides allowing the fitting of an unditching wooden beam. The rear part of the hull also received an additional machine-gun mount.

Production of the Mark V started at the Metropolitan Carriage and Wagon factory in the fall of 1917. The first batch arrived in France in May 1918, and total production was 400, of which 200 were male and 200 were female. The last were delivered by mid-1919.

The Mark V in Action

Only available in small quantities by mid-1918, the impact of the Mark V was not significant, but three months later, they were numerous enough to make a difference. The first major engagement was the battle of Hamel, on 7 July 1918, when 60 tanks led the victorious offensive of the Australian troops against the German lines.

A Mark V*, the main, lengthened variant of the Mark V, stretched by 1.82 m (6 feet) to cope with the large antitank trenches of the Hindenburg Line. Its lack of agility was a big issue.

After the armistice, 70 Mark V’s were given by the British government to the White Russian faction fighting against the Bolsheviks. But as the situation worsened, a growing number of captured Mark V’s took action under the red flag. There is no record of duels between red and white Mark V’s, but they ended as a substantial part of the Red Army and were thoroughly studied. They took part in several actions in 1921, including the battle of Tbilissi. Lithuanian and Latvian Mark V’s were still active in 1939.

Mk.V variants

Four variants were built during and after the war. The first was the famous “hermaphrodite”, a bunch of modified “females” to include a “male” artillery sponson. Apparently, some of the soldiers also called these “bastards”.

These mix type tanks were conceived in response to the growing number of captured German Mark I and IV tanks. The giant A7V was very rare at that time. The Mark V* or “star” was a lengthened (by six feet) version designed by Tritton during the fall of 1917, to deal with the Hindenburg line, and its very wide trenches (3.47 m/11.39 ft).

The Mark V was the last evolution of the Mark I lineage, the brainchild of William Tritton and Major Wilson. Here is a standard Mark V male, early production, May 1917. Notice the factory standard dark olive livery and the “eye” painted on the front, a reference to the “eyes” of ancient ships . 

A camouflaged late Mark V hermaphrodite. On the other side, a machine-gun sponson was fitted. Multi-pattern liveries were applied on site, with provisional, regulated colors. White, pale blue, brown, dark grey, black, were commonly used in spotted patterns, with or without black borders (French 1918 standard livery). The last Mark Vs were delivered well after the armistice.

[military1st]

Recon troopers from joined Latvian and Canadian recon teams during a water infiltration exercise near Adazi Military Base, Latvia. Part of Operation Summer Shield XII.

The U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Aaron Ellerman 204th Public Affairs Detachment (2015).

[daltechforce]

POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s

The Heckler & Koch G36s for the Latvian National Guard is appearing. As recently as January, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) signed and announced a framework agreement with a purchase contract with Heckler & Koch for G36s rifles. Below: Looks like their camouflage is pretty effective in this type of surroundings. Latvia was given Ak4 […]

Read More …

The post POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

from The Firearm Blog http://ift.tt/2oNJ4zT via IFTTT

[seekammo]

POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s

The Heckler & Koch G36s for the Latvian National Guard is appearing. As recently as January, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) signed and announced a framework agreement with a purchase contract with Heckler & Koch for G36s rifles. Below: Looks like their camouflage is pretty effective in this type of surroundings. Latvia was given Ak4 […]

Read More …

The post POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

from The Firearm Blog http://ift.tt/2oNJ4zT via IFTTT

[arnoldschwanke]

POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s

The Heckler & Koch G36s for the Latvian National Guard is appearing. As recently as January, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) signed and announced a framework agreement with a purchase contract with Heckler & Koch for G36s rifles. Below: Looks like their camouflage is pretty effective in this type of surroundings. Latvia was given Ak4 […]

Read More …

The post POTD: Latvia National Guard Student Battalion with HK G36s appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

from The Firearm Blog http://ift.tt/2oNJ4zT