President visits Kurzeme Brigade military bases

President Edgars Rinkēvičs visited the National Guard's 4th Kurzeme Brigade, touring military bases in Kuldīga and Mežaine. The purpose of the visit was to get a closer look at the brigade's daily operations, soldiers' living conditions, infrastructure, and the training underway within the National Defence Service (NDS).

Visit to Kuldīga

The visit began in Kuldīga, where the president met with base staff. He inspected the weapons room, armored vehicle storage areas, equipment and gear, and met with soldiers stationed there.

Mežaine training ground

From Kuldīga, the president traveled to the Mežaine training ground, where he was shown the work of the NDS training center and the range support unit. Rinkēvičs had lunch with a company of roughly 100 NDS service members, and also familiarized himself with the medical company's work and met with representatives of the engineering company. The visit concluded with a tour of the training area where new soldiers learn field combat skills; the president also viewed the barracks and posed for photos with the young recruits.

President's remarks

Rinkēvičs explained that the main goal of the visit was to meet with soldiers and guardsmen, as well as to learn about development plans for the Kurzeme Brigade and the Mežaine base. He noted he had already visited the Latgale and Riga brigades, so it was now the turn of the Kurzeme and Vidzeme brigades. The president emphasized that it was equally important to talk with NDS service members who had only recently begun training, and to hear how they were coping with service and living conditions.