Leonīds Kalniņš, Commander of the National Armed Forces (NBS), has suggested considering compulsory recruitment of women into the State Defense Service (VAD).
Next year, the VAD is expected to consist of around 1,000 young men, with the aim of reaching 4,000 VAD soldiers per year.
Kalniņš said that the unfavourable demographic situation is causing concern about the ability to recruit the required 4,000 soldiers. The NBS will certainly have to look for ways to motivate the public to engage in this form of service.
"It is my conviction and set-up that the volunteer VAD soldier is the best, the highest quality, and the most effective. And I hope that the volunteers will motivate the rest of the Latvian citizens as well and the number of mandatory conscripts will not be a large percentage," said the NBS Commander.
Asked whether we would not end up with a situation where all young people over 18 years of age, regardless of their sex, would still have to be conscripted, the NBS Commander replied that he would support the compulsory conscription of both sexes.
The quality, efficiency and discipline are much higher in sub-units with female personnel, as evidenced by the NBS commander's experience in the Home Guard, he said. "It would be a very good signal if such a decision was taken politically," the commander added.
The law on the State Defense Service was adopted by the Parliament on April 5 2023. It obliges every Latvian male citizen to serve in the defense service within one year of reaching the age of 18 or, if the citizen continues his education at the primary or secondary level, within one year of graduating from an educational institution, but not later than until the age of 24. At the same time, it is stipulated that Latvian citizens - men and women between 18 and 27 years of age - may apply for the VAD on a voluntary basis.
