Latvian National Guard

National Guard of the Republic of Latvia
Latvijas Republikas Zemessardze
Emblem of the Latvian National Guard
Founded23 August 1991; 32 years ago (1991-08-23)
Country Latvia
Type
Size10,000 personnel
Part ofLatvian National Armed Forces
Garrison/HQMaiznīcas iela 5, Rīga, LV-1001
Anniversaries23 August
Websitehttps://www.zs.mil.lv
Commanders
Current
commander
Brigadier general Kaspars Pudāns
Insignia
Roundel

The Latvian National Guard or NG (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Zemessardze, ZS) is a part of the Latvian National Armed Forces. The National Guard is a basic land component, consisting of volunteers who perform traditional national guard duties such as crisis response and support for military operations. It consists of the Staff Headquarters and 4 brigades (formally - regions or novadi), which are divided into 18 battalions. The National Guard continued its development also after Latvia joined NATO.

History

National Guard troops firing artillery

The National Guard was established on August 23, 1991 by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia as a voluntary public military self-defense organization. Its roots can be traced to the pre-World War II Aizsargi organization. It is the largest NAF structure in terms of numbers. The National Guard has always played an essential role in the national defense system by allowing the public to be involved in national defense. A number of National Guard battalions have been transformed into high-readiness reserve forces, which can be deployed immediately on international military operations.

The youth organization of the National Guard, the Youth Guard (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Jaunsardze, JS), was established in 1992. It is the largest youth movement in Latvia, bringing together young people from the age of 10 to 21.

An aviation component of the National Guard was introduced in 1993, with a fleet of ex-Soviet DOSAAF light aircraft and gliders. In 2000 the aviation component became part of the Air Force.

In the 1990s, the National Guard troops (much like the regular armed forces) were equipped with leftover Soviet weapons like the AKM, AK-74, SKS rifles and TT and Makarov pistols, alongside early procurements of CZ 82 pistols from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the late 1990s, a gradual switch to the Swedish-made Ak 4 rifle began.

Mission

The main task of the National Guard is to support the regular Land Force units by defending the national territory during military threat and to perform NAF combat support and combat logistics functions. At the same time, the National Guard will continue providing assistance to the public regarding crisis control, as well as to the Latvian State Police regarding provision of public law and order, and continue the safeguarding of sites of national security importance.

Structure

A soldier from the Latvian National Guard's 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Battalion aims at targets during tactical training at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, Mich., during Northern Strike 19.

(as of April 20, 2021:)

National Guard (NG) Headquarters (Rīga)

  • NG Cyber Defense Unit (Rīga)
  • NG special task force
  • NG Special PSYOPS Support Platoon (Valmiera)
  • NG Veterans' Union (Rīga)
  • Central Band of the National Guard (Rīga)

National Guard 1st Brigade (Rīga HQ):

  • NG Student Infantry Battalion (Rīga)
  • NG 13th Infantry Battalion (Rīga)
  • NG 17th Combat Support Battalion (Mārupe)
  • NG 19th Combat Service Support Battalion (Ulbroka)
  • NG 53rd Infantry Battalion (Bauska)
  • NG CBRN Defense Company (Rīga)

National Guard 2nd Brigade (Valmiera HQ):

  • NG 22nd Combat Service Support Battalion (Valmiera)
  • NG 25th Infantry Battalion (Gulbene)
  • NG 26th Infantry Battalion (Gulbene)
  • NG 27th Infantry Battalion (Cēsis)
  • NG 31st Infantry Battalion (Alūksne)
  • NG 54th Combat Support Battalion (Ogre)

National Guard 3rd Brigade (Rēzekne HQ):

National Guard 4th Brigade (Liepāja HQ):

  • NG 44th Infantry Battalion (Liepāja)
  • NG 45th Combat Service Support Battalion (Kuldīga)
  • NG 46th Infantry Battalion (Ventspils)
  • NG 51st Infantry Battalion (Dobele)
  • NG 52nd Combat Support Battalion (Jelgava)

Equipment

Weapons

Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
Pistols
Glock pistol  Austria Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm Parabellum Glock 17 variant.
SIG Sauer P210   Switzerland Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm Parabellum
Submachine guns
Carl Gustav m/45  Sweden Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum
Heckler & Koch MP5  Germany Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum MP5A3 variant.
Rifles
Heckler & Koch G36  Germany Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Main service rifle. Has mostly replaced the Ak4, first contract signed in February 2018.
Heckler & Koch G3  Sweden Battle rifle 7.62×51mm NATO Ak4 variant, donated from Sweden. Being replaced by G36. Used mostly as a reserve weapon. Replaced Soviet rifles
Sniper rifles
M14 rifle  United States Battle rifle 7.62×51mm NATO Large number of rifles were donated by USA after restoration of independence. Modified M-14s used as sniper rifles.
SIG Sauer SSG 3000  Germany Sniper rifle 7.62×51mm NATO
Machine guns
RPK  Soviet Union Light machine gun 7.62×39mm
Heckler & Koch HK21  Germany General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO
Rheinmetall MG3  Germany General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO
FN MAG  Sweden General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO Kulspruta 58 B variant.
M2 Browning  United States Heavy machine gun .50 BMG
Anti-tank weapons
AT4  Sweden Recoilless rifle 84 mm
Carl Gustav  Sweden Recoilless rifle 84 mm M2 variant used by the National Guard.
Pvpj 1110  Sweden Recoilless rifle 90 mm 130 units, some on motorized platforms.
100 mm vz. 53  Czechoslovakia Field gun 100 mm 23 guns in inventory.
Anti-aircraft weapons
Bofors 40 mm gun  Sweden Anti-aircraft autocannon 40 mm 24 guns in inventory. Used with CIG-790 fire control system.
Mortars
L16 81mm mortar  United Kingdom
 Norway
Mortar 81 mm 28 mortars in inventory.
120-PM-43 mortar  Soviet Union Mortar 120 mm 25 mortars in inventory. Received from the Czech Republic in 1995.

Military vehicles

Model Image Origin Type Quantity Notes
Armoured personnel carriers
Patria 6×6  Finland

 Latvia

Armoured personnel carrier >4 Approximately 200 vehicles (together with Latvian Land Forces) on order. To be delivered 2021–2029.
Trucks
Scania 3-series  Sweden Truck 50 Model P93M. Purchased from Norway between 2014 and 2015.
Mercedes-Benz Unimog  Germany Truck Model 416.
Volvo C303  Sweden Truck Model Tgb 11, Tgb 13 and Tgb 211A.
Light vehicles
Mercedes-Benz G-Class  Germany SUV Model 240GD and 290GD.
Volkswagen Iltis  Germany SUV
CUCV  United States SUV Model M1008.
Special vehicles
Bv 206  Sweden Amphibious tracked vehicle Model Bv 206 and PvBv 2062.
Husky VMMD  United States Route clearance vehicle 3 Three Husky 2G vehicles provided to the 54th Engineers Battalion by the US in 2019.
PTS  Soviet Union Amphibious tracked transporter In reserve in the 54th Engineers Battalion
Artillery
M109A5Ö
Rechenstellenpanzer M109
Driver training vehicle
Latvian Army M109 A5o Howitzer  United States
 Austria
Self-propelled artillery 35 howitzers, 10 command and control vehicles and 2 driver training vehicles purchased for Latvian Land Forces and National Guard from Austria in 2017.
Additional 18 howitzers received in 2021. 6 howitzers were donated to Ukraine.

Cooperation

The National Guard has established close co-operation with similar organizations abroad – the US Michigan Army National Guard, the Australian Army Reserve, the UK Territorial Army, and the Home Guard organizations of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania and Estonia.

Gallery


This page was last updated at 2024-01-13 06:02 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari