Cpl. Guillaume Lavoie and Cpl. Matthew Bowler from Quebec show a defensive position in a trench during Resolute Warrior military exercises in Latvia. Credit *

At the sprawling forested Ādaži military base, north east of Riga, Latvia, 3,000 troops have spent the past two weeks participating in a Canadian-led NATO military exercise designed to simulate an attack on the Baltic nation coming from beyond its nearly 300 km-long border with Russia.