 The Latvian national baseball team invited American paratroopers to swing for the fences in a friendly scrimmage. Paratroopers were eager to organize a team and get the chance to play. As we get to know them better, they get to know us better. You build a friendship that way. And the more you do it, the bigger the friendship and the better things become. Playing baseball against the Americans is a rare opportunity for the national team. But they hope to be able to play the Americans again while they are in Latvia. I think that's great. We have to do it more often. And now that we know that they can play, then we can do it more often. Maybe every year or something, and it could be a great tradition. As the paratroopers played baseball, they reminisced about the good old days of playing ball as a kid. It brings back really good memories. It reminds me of when I was young. I always had a ball in my hand playing some kind of sport. That shared interest brought team Latvia and the paratroopers together to show local children the basic fundamentals of baseball. I mean, that's a tough thing about Latvian baseball is they don't have many little kids playing baseball in Latvia. That has to be the foundation of your program. If your program is going to grow in the future, you've got to have little kids playing and build that pyramid from the bottom up. In the end, the paratroopers lost five to seven against the Latvian national team. Win or lose, they all walked away with big smiles and treasured memories playing baseball together. Sergeant Jen McAlebe, Riga Latvia.