Latvian national defense service reforms

Latvian lawmakers have introduced proposals to strengthen the country’s National Defense Service (VAD) and National Defense Training (VAM) in response to security concerns.

Deputy Artūrs Butāns proposed amendments to the VAD law to address recruitment shortages. His plan suggests filling remaining quotas by prioritizing citizens who are neither employed nor students, as determined by state databases. If these groups do not meet the required numbers, the proposal suggests using a random selection process for remaining candidates. The goal is to implement these changes for the January 2028 intake.

Separately, Raimonds Bergmanis, head of the Saeima Defense, Interior and Corruption Prevention Commission, has called for increasing the duration of National Defense Training from 112 hours to at least 140 hours. Bergmanis argued that the current duration is insufficient for mastery of training content, citing a study that showed Latvian residents' readiness to defend the country was lower than that of citizens in Finland.