Latvia's Home Guard marks 35th anniversary, nears goal of 12,000 members
Latvia's Home Guard (Zemessardze), now numbering around 10,000 volunteers, is celebrating its 35th founding anniversary as commander Aivars Krjukovs discusses the force's future plans and current challenges.
This week marks 35 years since the founding of Latvia's Home Guard (Zemessardze) — the law "On the Latvian Home Guard" was adopted on August 23, 1991. What began as a volunteer civilian formation has grown into a full component of the National Armed Forces and national defense, now counting roughly 10,000 members.
Anniversary events are planned for Sunday, August 23, in Riga, including a religious service, a military ceremony with Home Guard units, and an exhibition of equipment and weapons open to visitors. Further details are available on the Home Guard's website and social media accounts.
The commander's outlook
In an interview for the show "Spried ar Delfi," journalists Andris Auzāns and Ansis Īvāns spoke with Home Guard commander, Brigadier General Aivars Krjukovs, who has held the post for a year and a half. Upon taking office, he had said the number of Home Guard members should approach 12,000 in the coming years — a target not yet reached.
To broaden public involvement in national defense, a new "Home Guard supporter" status was introduced this spring. It allows people who cannot serve actively due to health or age to contribute their professional knowledge and skills instead.
New challenges
As the nature of modern warfare shifts, drone use and counter-drone measures are taking on growing importance in Home Guard training. This has become especially relevant amid repeated drone incidents near Latvia's border in recent months. One of the latest occurred early on August 14, when a foreign drone that entered Latvian airspace due to Russian electromagnetic warfare activity was shot down in the Rugāji parish of Balvi municipality. Home Guard members took part in searching the area and locating drone debris.
