The Latvian National Guard or NG (, 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 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 NBS 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 (, 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, the roundel of which was a red-white auseklis, 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 Automatkarbin 4 began. It, in turn, was phased out by the H&K G36 starting from the late-2010s. A number of Carl Gustaf m/45 submachine guns, donated by Sweden, were also used by the Guard until a phaseout the 2020s.
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 NBS combat support and combat logistics functions. At the same time, the National Guard continues 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.
Organization
As of April 2026, the Latvian National Guard consists of the following units:
National Guard Headquarters, in Riga National Guard Training Center, in Dobele National Guard Cyber Defence and Electronic Warfare Battalion, in Riga National Guard Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Support Platoon, in Valmiera National Guard Science, Research and Innovation Implementation Center, in Riga National Guard Veterans Association, in Riga National Guard Orchestra, in Riga 1st Rīga Brigade, in Riga (responsible for Riga and the Zemgale region) Student Battalion, in Riga 13th Infantry Battalion, in Riga 17th Combat Support Battalion (Air-defence), in Mārupe (responsible for Jūrmala city, and the Mārupe, Olaine and Ķekava municipalities) 19th Combat Service Support Battalion, in Ropaži (responsible for Ādaži, Salaspils and Ropaži municipalities) 53rd Infantry Battalion, in Bauska (responsible for Bauska Municipality) CBRN-Defence Company, in Riga 1st Rīga Brigade Engineer Company, in Iecava 1st Rīga Brigade Medical Company, in Riga 2nd Vidzeme Brigade, in Valmiera 22nd Combat Service Support Battalion, in Valmiera (responsible for Valmiera, Valka and Smiltene municipalities) 25th Combat Support Battalion (Artillery and Air-defence), in Gulbene 26th Infantry Battalion, in Gulbene (responsible for Gulbene and Madona municipalities) 27th Infantry Battalion, in Cēsis (responsible for Cēsis, Limbaži and Sigulda municipalities, and parts of Saulkrasti Municipality) 31st Infantry Battalion, in Alūksne (responsible for Alūksne and Balvi municipalities) 54th Combat Support Battalion (Engineering), in Ogre (responsible for Ogre Municipality) 2nd Vidzeme Brigade Engineer Company, in Valmiera 2nd Vidzeme Brigade Medical Company, in Valmiera 3rd Latgale Brigade, in Rēzekne 32nd Infantry Battalion, in Rēzekne (responsible for Rēzekne city, and the Rēzekne and Ludza municipalities) 34th Infantry Battalion, in Daugavpils (responsible for Daugavpils city and Augšdaugava Municipality) 35th Infantry Battalion, in Preiļi (responsible for Preiļi, Līvāni and Krāslava municipalities) 36th Combat Support Battalion (Artillery and Air-defence), in Lūznava 55th Infantry Battalion, in Aizkraukle (responsible for Aizkraukle Municipality) 56th Combat Service Support Battalion, in Jēkabpils (responsible for Jēkabpils Municipality) 3rd Latgale Brigade Engineer Company, in Rēzekne 3rd Latgale Brigade Medical Company, in Rēzekne 4th Kurzeme Brigade, in Kuldīga 44th Infantry Battalion, in Liepāja (responsible for Liepāja city and South Kurzeme Municipality) 45th Combat Service Support Battalion, in Kuldīga (responsible for Kuldīga and Saldus municipalities) 46th Infantry Battalion, in Ventspils (responsible for Ventspils city, and the Ventspils and Talsi municipalities) 51st Infantry Battalion, in Dobele (responsible for Dobele and Tukums municipalities) 52nd Combat Support Battalion, in Jelgava (responsible for Jelgava city and Jelgava Municipality)
Equipment Weapons + Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes Pistols Glock pistol Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm Parabellum Glock 17 variant. SIG Sauer P210 Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine guns Carl Gustaf m/45 Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum Heckler & Koch MP5Submachine gun9×19mm ParabellumMP5A3 variant. Rifles Heckler & Koch G36 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Main service rifle. Has mostly replaced the Ak4, first contract signed in February 2018. Heckler & Koch G3Automatkarbin 4 (Ak4) 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 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 Sniper rifle 7.62×51mm NATO Machine guns RPK Light machine gun 7.62×39mm Heckler & Koch HK21 General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO Rheinmetall MG3 General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO FN MAG General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO Kulspruta 58 B variant. M2 Browning Heavy machine gun .50 BMG Anti-tank weapons AT4 Recoilless rifle 84 mm Carl Gustav Recoilless rifle 84 mm M2 variant used by the National Guard. Pvpj 1110 Recoilless rifle 90 mm 130 units, some on motorized platforms. 100 mm vz. 53 Field gun 100 mm 23 guns in inventory. Anti-aircraft weapons Bofors 40 mm gun Anti-aircraft autocannon 40 mm 24 guns in inventory. Used with CIG-790 fire control system. Mortars L16 81mm mortar Mortar 81 mm 28 mortars in inventory. 120-PM-43 mortar 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 Armoured personnel carrier >4 >4 in National Guard inventory. Much more in Latvian Land Forces inventory. TrucksScania 3-seriesTruck50Model P93M. Purchased from Norway between 2014 and 2015.Mercedes-Benz UnimogTruckModel 416.Volvo C303TruckModel Tgb 11, Tgb 13 and Tgb 211A. Light vehiclesMercedes-Benz G-ClassSUVModel 240GD and 290GD.Volkswagen IltisSUVCUCVSUVModel M1008. Special vehiclesBv 206Amphibious tracked vehicleModel Bv 206 and PvBv 2062.Husky VMMDRoute clearance vehicle3Three Husky 2G vehicles provided to the 54th Engineers Battalion by the US in 2019.PTSAmphibious tracked transporterIn reserve in the 54th Engineers Battalion Artillery M109A5Ö Self-propelled artillery Listed under Latvian Land Forces inventory, although co-operationally also used by National Guard
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
References
External links
Latvian National Guard Official Website