NATO troops from 14 nations held drills against mock invaders in the woods outside the Latvian capital Riga in March, The Wall Street Journal reported.
However, the massive exercise to fend off the fictional enemy “Occacus” was plagued by language barriers, communications problems, and NATO weaponry compatibility issues.
It is an easy guess that implied under the "invading nation" was Russia, even though it was never mentioned outright.
A battalion led by Latvian Army Lt. Col. Gaidis Landratovs operated alongside US troops during the exercise. In line with the simulated scenario, enemy forces crossed Latvia’s border with Russia and were heading towards the capital. The enemy forces had identifying red X marks on their equipment.
“What’s most important is to demonstrate readiness to act quickly and deploy to defend Latvian and NATO borders,” Latvian Army Col. Oskars Kudlis was cited as saying.
However, the troops had to communicate in a spate of different languages over different kinds of radios, as well as coordinate disparate weapons systems and battlefield practices, the outlet noted.
The differences in language, communications systems, and weaponry within NATO have purportedly become a challenge now that “preparing for coalition warfare is once again NATO’s priority.”
The drills in Latvia were among several staged near the EU border with Russia, alongside exercises in Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia.
“The integration of all the countries is a challenge,” Canadian Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Cox, who helped lead Exercise Crystal Arrow, was cited as saying.
Screenshot of X post on official account of Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum.
© Photo : NATOJFCBS
NATO, which was recently joined by Finland and Sweden, is plagued by disputes, the publication added. European members of the alliance have started splurging more on defense, and will jointly meet their financial commitment to the alliance, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. But Issues such as whether Ukraine should be allowed to join the alliance, military budgeting levels, and the contest to succeed Stoltenberg have all bred soaring acrimony, the outlet claimed.
An agreement on Ukraine's membership in NATO is not expected at the alliance's summit in Washington this summer, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier in April.
Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the alliance's buildup of forces in Europe and the unprecedented NATO activity near its western borders in recent years. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Moscow remains open to dialogue with NATO, but on an equal footing, while the West should abandon its policy of militarizing the continent.
As for NATO's military exercise, Steadfast Defender 2024, raises the risk of unintended military confrontation and undermines security in Europe, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik earlier in the year. He added that "European security is of little concern to the top NATO command, which is too busy trying to keep this tool of US influence relevant in the already lost war for the West's global dominance."
Russia would not be intimidated by what the senior diplomat described as a provocative show of force. He said his country has everything it needs to ensure its security and defense capabilities.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev described the NATO drills as preparation for new wars.
"The joint drills of NATO armed forces in Europe called Steadfast Defender 2024, during which the scenario of armed confrontation with Russia is being worked out, will certainly increase tensions and destabilize the situation in the world," Patrushev said.