U.S. troops at COP Keating, 2009 (Photo 1st Lt. Brad Larson)
There is not a lot of Latvian military history. The armed forces were formed in 1918 after the establishment of the independent nation, fighting bravely during the War of Independence (1918-1920). The interwar years left the military ill-prepared for the outbreak of World War II. Troops were ordered not to intervene during the Soviet occupation in 1940. During the war, many veterans fought as partisans against the Soviet occupation. The present Latvian military was reconstituted in 1991.
