Off the wire
• Xinhua Insight: China to answer key questions at March meetings (1)  • Death toll of swine flu rises to 965 in India  • Urgent: 7.1 magnitude quake hits central Indonesia  • Landslide kills 2 in Indian-controlled Kashmir  • Cyprus soccer referee's house bombed  • FLASH: 7.1 MAGNITUDE QUAKE HITS EAST NUSA TENGGARA, INDONESIA  • Melbourne City club unveils new training complex  • Europa League round of 16 draw  • NBA Kings' Collison to have surgery next week  • Roundup: Kenya, Algeria vow to cooperate on regional peace, development  
You are here: 　 Home

Latvian reserve officers to be called up for training in autumn

Xinhua, February 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Some retired officers from Latvia's professional army will be required to take part in a training in the autumn in the event of a potential NATO-led operation, Latvian defense chief Lt. Gen. Raimonds Graube said in an interview with Riga TV24 television Friday.

"In the autumn, those soldiers who have served in the professional armed forces and have now retired will be called up for repeated training," Lt. Gen. Graube said, adding that the mobilization exercise might last for three to five days, or maybe a week.

The aim of the exercise is to involve former officers with experience serving in multinational operations. "So these are soldiers who, if needed, can be involved in defending the Latvian state in a very short period of time," Lt. Gen. Graube explained.

This also explains why Latvia does not need to return to conscription, the chief of defense believes. "We are a NATO member. We have to think about soldiers who are capable of carrying out NATO operations," said Lt. Gen. Graube.

"The combination of professionals and volunteers, whose numbers have increased lately as citizens have been joining the Home Guard more actively, is the right solution in my opinion," the chief of defense said.

Unlike in previous years, this year's mobilization exercise will be mandatory for the retired soldiers who get the call-up notice. Endit