Latvian National Armed Forces

National Armed Forces Nacionālie bruņotie spēki
guide
Commander in Chief :	Egils Levits
Defense Minister:	Artis Pabriks
Military Commander:	Lieutenant General Leonīds Kalniņš
Headquarters:	Riga
Military strength
Active soldiers:	5,000 (2014)
Conscription:	Voluntary
Eligibility for military service:	18 years
household
Military budget:	€ 449.57 million (2017)
Share of gross domestic product :	1.7% (2017)
history
Founding:	December 24, 1994

The National Armed Forces ( Latvian Nacionālie bruņotie spēki , NBS for short) are the military of the Republic of Latvia . They were established in 1994 and are subordinate to the Latvian Ministry of Defense ( Latvian Aizsardzības ministrija ).

history

The period between 1918 and 1940

During the First World War , purely Latvian combat units were set up for the first time in the Russian Empire in 1915: the so-called Latvian riflemen . Most of these troops went over to the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and fought in the Russian Civil War . In January 1919, the Latvian Red Riflemen and the International Division formed the Soviet Latvian Army . After the loss of national territory and the Peace of Riga (1920) , the red Latvian associations were demobilized .

The Republic of Latvia, which was proclaimed on November 18, 1918, also formed combat troops with German, Estonian and Allied help, which were combined into the Latvian Army on July 10, 1919 . This army, which existed from July 11, 1919 to June 29, 1940, was officially known as the Latvian Armed Forces ( Latvian Latvijas Bruņotie spēki ). In the autumn of 1919 these troops were able to prevail against the Freikorps under Rüdiger von der Goltz and Pawel Bermondt-Awaloff as well as against the Soviet Latvian forces. The War of Independence ended on August 11, 1920. During the independence period, the Latvian army consisted of four divisions . The Ministry of Security , established in 1918, was renamed the Ministry of War in 1922 .

See also : History of Latvia  and Selonia # After World War I.

Latvian SSR and World War II

Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 without resistance and incorporated as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic . The Latvian Army was incorporated into the Red Army as the 24th Territorial Corps . During the German-Soviet War, there were two divisions of the Red Army from Latvians: the 201st Rifle Division (later renamed the 43rd Guards Division) and the 308th Rifle Division.

After the German occupation of Latvia in 1941, foreign volunteers from the Waffen SS were called upon to join the German fight against the Soviet Union. Later all Latvian men were subject to conscription and served in German or Latvian associations. The collective term for all Latvian associations set up within the framework of the Waffen-SS , Police and Air Force was Latvian Legion . A total of around 160,000 Latvians were in German service during the war.

See also : Latvian SS Associations , 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Latvian No. 1) and 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (Latvian No. 2)

Sergeant of the Honor Guard (2014)

The time since 1991

In 1991, Latvia regained its independence as a democratic state. Denmark, Norway, the United States and Great Britain helped build the Latvian National Armed Forces, whose strategy initially focused entirely on national defense . General conscription was introduced in 1992. Since 1994, the country took part in the NATO program Partnership for Peace in part. NBS soldiers have been participating in international missions since 1996. In September 1998, Russian troops dismantled the Skrunda radar station as their last military facility in Latvia.

Latvia has been a NATO member since 2004, which has accelerated the targeted restructuring of the armed forces that has been ongoing since 1999. In 2005 the last conscripts were called up. Since January 1st, 2007 the Latvian army has been based entirely on contracts for work and services. The North-East Multinational Corps of NATO was reinforced by the incorporation of brigades from the three Baltic states .

Armed Forces Commander

The following people have been the military commanders in chief of the Latvian Armed Forces over the years:

Surname	period of service	comment
Dāvis Sīmansons	July 10, 1919 - October 16, 1919
Jānis Balodis	October 16, 1919 - April 1, 1921
Mārtiņš Peniķis	April 1, 1921 - February 23, 1924
Pēteris Radziņš	February 23, 1924 - April 25, 1928
Mārtiņš Peniķis	April 25, 1928 - November 14, 1934
Krišjānis Berķis	November 14, 1934 - June 20, 1940
Dainis Turlais	January 29, 1992 - October 25, 1994
Juris Dalbiņš	October 25, 1994 - June 8, 1998
Juris Eihmanis	June 25, 1998 - December 10, 1998
Raimond's gray	February 1, 1999 - January 31, 2003
Gaidis Andrejs Zeibots	February 1, 2003 - July 6, 2006	Resignation before regular term of office ends
Juris Maklakovs	July 6, 2006 - July 5, 2010
Raimond's gray	July 6, 2010 - January 26, 2017	2nd + 3rd Term of office, resignation before regular term of office ends
Leonīds Kalniņš	since January 27, 2017

structure

The Latvian armed forces consist of the armed forces

• Land Forces ( Latvian Sauszemes spēki )
• Naval Forces ( Latvian Jūras spēki )
• Air Force ( Latvian Gaisaspēki spēki )
• National Guard ( Latvian Zemessardze )

There is also a border guard at paramilitary forces. Its 3,500 members are subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior.

equipment

• Army: 123 CVR (T) Scorpion reconnaissance vehicles
• Navy: including 11 patrol boats and 5 former Dutch Tripartite class mine hunters
• Air Force: 4 helicopters ( Mil Mi-17 ), no combat aircraft

International cooperation

Participation in missions abroad

The Latvian National Armed Forces took part in the following missions abroad:

• In Iraq ( Operation Iraqi Freedom ) until 2009.
• In Afghanistan ( ISAF ).
• In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation ALTHEA of the European Union .
• In Georgia as an observer in the EDSO program.
• In Kosovo , in the ( KFOR ) operation of NATO.
• In Mali ( EUTM Mali ) up to seven soldiers in a Scandinavian-Baltic training team
• In Mali ( MINUSMA ), 1–3 staff officers at the Force Headquarters in Bamako since 2016
• In Iraq ( Operation Inherent Resolve ) up to 10 soldiers since 2016

Cooperation with Estonia & Lithuania

The Air Force operates the BaltNet air surveillance system with its Baltic neighbors . The facilities and resources of the naval forces of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are shared within the framework of BALTRON . BALTBAT is the joint infantry division of the three countries within the NATO Response Forces .

In addition, there are numerous educational institutions that are operated jointly with the Estonian and Lithuanian armed forces . One example is the Baltic Defense Academy ( BALTDEFCOL ) in Tartu , where the future staff officers of the Baltic states are trained.

See also

• List of women in the military

literature

• Kārlis Krēsliņš, Aleksandrs Pavlovičs, Inese Krēsliņa: Defense of the <sic!> Latvia: Past, Present and Future . In: Baltic Security and Defense Review , ISSN  1736-3772 , Vol. 13 (2011), Issue 2, pp. 110-127 ( online ).

Web links

Commons : Latvian National Armed Forces  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Latvian Ministry of Defense (English, Latvian)
• Latvian National Armed Forces (Latvian)
• Latvian National Armed Forces 1930-1932 (English, Latvian, Russian)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Financial and Economic Data Relating to NATO Defense. (PDF, 424kB) Press Release PR / CP (2015) 093-COR1. In: NATO Public Diplomacy Division. June 22, 2015, accessed March 22, 2016 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Latvijas aizsardzības budžets - viens no straujāk augošajiem pasaulē. Retrieved January 2, 2017 (Latvian). 
3. ↑ International Institute for Strategic Studies : The Military Balance , 2002.
4. ↑ Latvijas armijas komandieri ( Memento from October 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (Latvian)
5. ↑ Latvian army purchases UK armored combat vehicles , accessed March 23, 2020.
6. ↑ Latvia to commence first UN peacekeeping mission and increase engagement in the international coalition's fight against Da'esh. Retrieved March 4, 2017 .