An U.S. Air Force C-130 carrying paratroopers of 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment takes off at the conclusion of NATO exercise Steadfast Javelin II at Lielvarde Airbase, Latvia, Sept. 8, 2014. NATO paratroopers occupied the airbase for several days to launch follow-on operations after seizing it the night of Sept. 5. Steadfast Javelin II is a NATO exercise involving over 2,000 troops from 10 nations, and takes place across Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The exercise focuses on increasing interoperability and synchronizing complex operations between allied air and ground forces through airborne and air assault missions. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael T. Crawford/Released)