Overview
- Roughly 1,250 personnel are exercising at the Tapa base, with a US tank company and a French company training alongside Estonian partners.
- British troops, including the Royal Tank Regiment, are deployed under Operation Cabrit, which covers UK contributions in Estonia and Poland.
- Soldiers report temperatures as low as minus 30C and waist- to chest-deep snow, with officers calling the conditions a steep learning curve.
- Lieutenant Colonel Mark Luson said the alliance “feels stronger than ever,” noting that concerns over President Donald Trump’s Greenland remarks have not affected morale on the range.
- The UK will lead the NATO Allied Reaction Force Special Operations Component after two years of preparation that included establishing a new NATO Joint Operations Headquarters.