Brig. Gen. Blake C. Ortner, commanding general of the

Brig. Gen. Blake C. Ortner, commanding general of the Virginia National Guard’s 29th Infantry Division and exercise director for Saber Strike 16, speaks with British army Maj. Duncan Allen, 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers member June 13, 2016, at Adazi Military Training Base, Latvia. Saber Strike is a long-standing, U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise designed to improve joint operational capability in a range of missions, as well as prepare the 13 participating nations to support multinational contingency operations. Saber Strike 16 is taking place from May 26- June 21, 2016, in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Members of the 29th ID from both Maryland and Virginia are operating as an exercise control element, ensuring all units meet their training objectives and helping reallocate resources during the exercise to achieve training objectives. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. A.J. Coyne, 29th Infantry Division)