Former NAF Commander defends the tradition of giving swords and calls it part of battle readiness / day

Former commanders Raimonds Graube and Gaidis Andrejs Zeibots, however, were in the commentary of the procurement amount, as they did not have information at affordable prices, and the procurement conditions should be assessed by procurement specialists.

At the same time, Graube and Zeibot emphasized that combat readiness does not only mean weapons such as armored vehicles or drones, but combat readiness also means morals, which are part of traditions, and that the sword is presented to graduates of the National Defense Academy in the interwar period.

The officer’s sword and the oath to the soldier are the most important moral foundations in national defense. It is the tradition of the army that is an area highlighting the role of the armed forces in the protection of the country and attracting future officers, the former army commanders say.

« Combat readiness consists of armament, training and moral. The tradition is a big part of moral, » Zeibot emphasized.

Former commanders did not deny that, in the current tense geopolitical conditions, providing army with armaments and other equipment is extremely important, but if society, including politicians, is questioning the need for tradition, including an officer sword, is a dangerous discussion.

« If we only understand combat readiness with the purchase of armored vehicles and mine, in which case we can discuss whether the Latvian War Museum, military orchestras, military parades and other things are needed, » Graube emphasized.

Former NAF commanders, however, confirmed that the swords were not presented to all graduates of the Academy in the 1990s and in the early 2000s. This traditional attribute was only given to the best course graduate. Later, the order changed and returned to the interwar period tradition of granting swords to all graduates of the Academy.

Former commanders also emphasized that Latvia is not unique in this tradition, as swords are granted in the armies of many NATO and other Western countries. This has been the case for centuries.

Former NAF commander Juris Dalbiņš was harsher in his comment. He told LETA that he believes that this process is an information war operation on which the government has also been caught by members of the government.

« The big digit appears, four years and we get up at this topic, watching who will react. The result is obtained because some people have mistrust in the MoD and the army leadership of its professionalism and ability to assess the situation, » Dalbins emphasized.

He criticized the statements made by the Minister of Finance Arvill Aseraden (JV) on the Latvian Television program « Morning Panorama » about the purchase of swords. « Does he really appreciate the officers and the army leadership so low that these swords are purchased to go to the battle? At present, obviously civilian power does not trust the military power to the end, » said Dalbins.

He explained that the main purpose of the sword is the moral posture of officers, which is a very important issue in every troops. The higher the morality, the more combat is the unit. It is well visible in Ukraine, where, despite the lack of weapons, morality provides high combat capabilities, the former army commander said.

Dalbiņš also called not to turn the sword on the subject of a political game during the pre -election campaign.

It has already been reported that the MoD will probably spend a total of € 900,000 for the purchase of parade swords in NAF officers in the coming years, and hundreds of thousands of euros have already been concluded in recent years for the supply of such attributes.

€ 900,000 is the maximum amount for this purpose in the Central Procurement Plan of the Defense Department for a four -year period – from 2026 to 2030, LETA agency found out on Tuesday.

The procurement is planned to be announced in 2026. The amount spent on the procurement will depend on the order of the National Armed Forces (NAF) for the number of swords required in the particular year, the ministry said. This means that the full maximum amount provided for in the contract is not intended.

At the current contract, the cost of one sword is up to 600 euros.

Already after the publication of the purchase of swords, Defense Minister Andris Sprūds (P) has announced in Twitter that he has ordered evaluation of the specifications and volumes of procurement. « The traditions of officers are honorable, but need to be carefully evaluated and reduced, » he points out, adding that strengthening combat capabilities is absolutely a priority.

Following the publication of the procurement, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV) has announced that the government is funding the expenses of the armed forces that support the strengthening of national defense capabilities. In turn, the NAF officer swords at the parade uniform are not the most acute priority of Latvia. Therefore, she expects the trigger to take immediate action on this issue.

The MoD should be very careful about buying parade swords for € 900,000, said Finance Minister Arvill Aseraden (JV) in an interview with Latvian Television’s « Morning Panorama » on Wednesday.

He called on the MoD to evaluate this procurement very carefully, stating that Latvia will have to give up a lot to make the army combat, to have both people, performance and weapons.

« I’m not an expert, but in my opinion, if we look at the modern battlefield, these are not the most effective weapons, » said Aseraden.

LETA made sure that, according to the information available on the Procurement Monitoring Bureau (PMB) website in February this year, the National Defense Logistics and Procurement Center (Valic) announced an open tender for the purchase of sword holder. At the end of last year, the company « Pils LVA » won the procurement for the purchase of sword bouquets and the contract price is 41,999 euros.

In 2023, Wilco, organized by Valic for the purchase of officers’ swords, was won by the company Wilco and the contract price was 110,501 euros at that time. In 2022, the company « Sils & Sons » won the tender for the supply of officers and the contract price was EUR 100,000 at that time. In 2022, Wilco received the right to supply officers’ swords for the procurement of the officers for EUR 148,749 and EUR 495,867 respectively. In 2020, « Sils & Sons » won EUR 100,000 in procurement for the acquisition of officers’ swords.

The ministry pointed out that swords are intended for issuing and prospective officers – graduates of the National Defense Academy. In addition, the ministry said that the Cabinet of Ministers regulations define the components of the officer uniform, which includes the sword with the sword holder and the sword bouquet.

The tradition of teaching the sword was established in 1920 and is presented by the President.