On 27 August, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs and Chief of the Defence Staff Lieutenant General Kaspars Pudāns visited the National Guard Brigade 4 Kurzeme and state defence service (SDS) troops who began the first ever duty at the Mežaine Camp and Training Area this July.
Edgars Rinkēvičs and Kaspars Pudāns met with National Guard Brigade 4 Kurzeme and the 45th Combat Support Battalion at the Kuldīga Camp. They inspected unit routines, infrastructure and equipment. Lieutenant Colonel Ģirts Savins, Commander of the National Guard Brigade 4 Kurzeme, reported about the area under his command, composition and personnel of various units – this year, for the first time ever, the force is comprised of the National Guard troops and 198 SDS troops.
At Camp Mežaine, President of Latvia enquired about the development of training area and other infrastructure, such as barracks. He attended the SDS troop combat skill training, as well as getting closer acquainted with medical and engineering unit tasks and objectives.
“It is absolutely vital to continue training of National Guard, state defence service and reserve troops. It is crucial to allow citizen who deeply care for the security of Latvia and themselves join either the National Guard or reserve training. For young people in the state defence service this is a good opportunity to test themselves, learn new skills and competencies, and if they volunteered for the service also benefit from free higher education in Latvia afterwards. It is important to continue to invest in additional infrastructure and quality of training to maintain the high standards mentioned by young people as one of the key factors motivating them to join the force and help strengthen the national security of Latvia,” President Rinkēvičs said at the conclusion of the visit.
