The Latvian Land Forces ( lv, Sauszemes spēki, SzS) together with the

Latvian National Guard The Latvian National Guard or NG ( lv, Latvijas Republikas Zemessardze, 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 suc ...

form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. Since 2007, land forces are organized as a fully professional standing army.

Mission

The main missions of the national Land Forces are to: * Provide for the defense of all national territories; * Ensure combat readiness and the mobilization of units; * Dispose of explosive ordnance; * Provide public assistance.

Structure

Insignia of Latvian Land Forces Mechanized Infantry Brigade

Mechanized Infantry Brigade ** Latvian Land Forces logo

Headquarters ** Latvian Land Forces logo

Headquarters and Signal Company ** NBS 1

1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion *** Headquarters and Support Company *** 1st Mechanized Infantry Company *** 2nd Mechanized Infantry Company *** 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company *** Combat Service Support Company ** NBS 2

2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion *** Headquarters and Support Company *** 1st Mechanized Infantry Company *** 2nd Mechanized Infantry Company *** 3rd Mechanized Infantry Company *** Combat Service Support Company ** SzS 3KB emblema

3rd Infantry Battalion (trains active service soldiers, national guardsmen and reserve soldiers) *** Headquarters and Support Company *** 1st Infantry Company *** 2nd Infantry Company *** 3rd Infantry Company *** Combat Service Support Company ** UZSUVE PNG

Artillery Unit (

M109A5Ö M1, M01 or M-1 may refer to: Arts, entertainment & media * WD-M01 Turn A Gundam, a mecha from the anime ''Turn A Gundam'' * M-1 (rapper), one half of hip hop duo Dead Prez * Korg M1, a keyboard synthesizer * Leica M1, a 1959 35 mm camera ...

howitzers) ** Insignia of the Combat Support Battalion (Latvia)

Combat Support Battalion *** Staff and Signal Company *** Anti-tank Company ( Spike-LR missiles) *** Fire Support Company *** Engineer Company *** Military Intelligence Company *** Forward Air Control Unit ** Kaujas nodrosinajuma bataljons emblema

Combat Service Support Battalion *** Staff and Signal Company *** Supply and Transport Company *** Technical Support and Maintenance Company *** Medical Company

Cooperation

Since 1996 till today the National Armed Forces' soldiers have been deployed on nine international peace-keeping missions in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

. Starting from January 1, 2015, Latvian Armed Forces are taking part in EU's

Nordic Battle Group The Nordic Battlegroup (NBG) is one of eighteen European Union battlegroups. It consists of around 2,500 soldiers including officers, with manpower contributed from the seven participating Northern European countries, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ire ...

. On March 29, 2004, Latvia became a fully fledged member of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

Equipment

Rank structure

The rank structure of the Latvian army is adjusted to the rank structure of the

countries in Europe. Rank insignia are worn historically on the collars and today also on shoulder marks. Starting 2016, only the Staff Battalion wears the collar insignia.

References

External links

Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Latvia

{{Allied Land Command Military of Latvia Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Military units and formations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Latvia