Troopers from Bravo Battery, Field Artillery Squadron,

Troopers from Bravo Battery, Field Artillery Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Latvian Soldiers of Fire Support Company, Combat Support Battalion, fire the M777 155mm Howitzer during Operation Summer Shield XII at Adazi Military Base, Latvia, March 27, 2015. Latvian Soldiers have been cross training on the weapon system for nearly two weeks to prepare for this event. The weapons familiarization training is part of Operation Summer Shield XII, a 10-day evolving training process during which partner forces from the U.S., Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom will work alongside one another in combined arms and live-fire maneuvers. This is the first exercise in which artillery pieces of this magnitude will be fired on Latvian soil since World War II. Operations like OSS XII provide great platforms to expand the involvement of U.S. troops in the region improving interoperability and confidence among NATO allies. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Aaron Ellerman, 204th Public Affairs Detachment/Released)