From left, U.S. Sens 140415-M-FD819-016

From left, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Hoeven of North Dakota and John McCain of Arizona; Latvian Chief of Defense Lt. Gen. Raimonds Graube; and Latvian Land Forces Lt. Col. Gunars Kaulins, the director of exercise Summer Shield, discuss the interoperability between U.S. and Latvian service members participating in the exercise during a visit at a range near Camp Adazi, Latvia, April 15, 2014. U.S. Marines with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, assigned to Black Sea Rotational Force 14-2, participated in Summer Shield, a joint staff planning live-fire maneuver event designed to enhance the NATO force's capacity and capability to integrate combined arms and maneuver at the battalion and brigade level. Black Sea Rotational Force is an annual multilateral security cooperation activity between the U.S. Marine Corps and partner nations in the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus regions designed to enhance participants’ collective professional military capacity, promote regional stability and build enduring relationships with partner nations.