Latvian soldiers and civilians team up for large-scale national defence exercise

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Latvia’s defence forces and civil institutions mobilised for Namejs 26, an exercise designed to test the country’s national defence plans.

Latvia’s Comprehensive National Defence System calls for confronting crises with the integration of military and civil institutions, leveraging the firepower of Latvia’s regular forces, and the size and presence of its National Guard, with the scale and speed of its police, medical and emergency services. Together, they can present a unified front against whatever aggression the Baltic nation might face.

However, integration takes practice, and Namejs is a yearly venue for these institutions to train under demanding and realistic conditions. For this year’s iteration, regular and National Guard forces sparred in the forests near Jurmala, while the Latvian Air Force practised using its Black Hawk helicopters to evacuate simulated casualties to civilian hospitals.

Latvian Minister of Defence Raivis Melnis said in a sit-down interview that the comprehensive approach is particularly useful in countering hybrid warfare because it gives the state more options in countering this ambiguous threat. The Minister of Defence also said that Latvian defence companies that are providing arms and equipment to Ukraine in its fight for independence have received letters threatening attacks if they don’t cease their support. He added that the Latvian government was supporting the companies with advisors.

Footage includes shots of Latvian troops in the forests near Jurmala and a simulated medical evacuation into Riga, as well as interviews with the Latvian Minister of Defence and a National Guard Lieutenant Colonel.

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