From the NFRW Armed Services Committee

The media often mentions Article V of NATO’s agreement between member nations. Article V is invoked when any member nation is “fired” upon; this is considered that all member nations have been “fired” upon.  Although Article V has not been invoked, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have invoked Article IV which pertains to the “threat” of military action against a member nation. These four countries invoked Article IV due to President Putin’s verbal “threat” stating his desire to restore the Soviet Republics to Russia, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The NATO Response Force currently has member nations spread from Estonia north of Ukraine down to Romania. This force includes approximately 14,500 U.S. service members. Their mission currently is to remain on heightened alert status to protect member nations’ borders. The atmosphere is very tense for our service members.

Less known is how many U.S. citizens have volunteered and are in the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. This force is made up of individuals from the U.S., United Kingdom, Sweden, Lithuania, Mexico, India, and other nations.  These individuals do not have any of the protections that our service members do. We should pray for these brave men who feel compelled to help Ukraine. U.S. personnel have often fought under other nations when they feel it is the right thing to do.

What your club can do:

• Pray!
• Donate to the USO and Red Cross.
• Donate to local organizations gathering items to ship to Ukraine.
• Support the spouses and families left behind.