Gun store in New York. NBC 4 NY video
By John Loftus
All Latvian high school students have been forced to learn how to use guns due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Latvia, the Eastern European NATO country that borders Russia, has been on high alert since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Not only does the country have conscription — compulsory service for young men — and a draft lottery if too few volunteers enlist, it also has a mandate for students: they must learn to use firearms.
“The purpose is not to train soldiers, but to develop more responsible citizens,” Col. Valts Āboliņš, a Latvian military officer who oversees the national education program, told Politico. “We want to remove the phobias many young people and their parents have when they encounter anything military.”
In Latvia, as well as in Estonia, another Baltic Sea country that borders Russia, students are required to participate in “National Defense Education,” Politico reported. In addition to handling firearms and other weapons, students learn first aid and land navigation skills, military marching and drilling, and military history, according to the outlet.
However, Latvia’s requirements are far more intense compared to Estonia, Politico reported. Latvia mandates that students participate in 112 hours of drill instruction over two years, while Estonia requires 35 hours of a classroom course.
And it’s not only boys who are forced to participate; girls must do so, too.
Sindija Brakovska, an 18-year-old girl featured in Politico’s article, told the outlet that although she dreams of becoming a dance teacher or hairstylist, and was nervous to take the course, the mandatory training “makes sense.”
Instructor Andris Skanis acknowledged that many young Latvians consider themselves pacifists, including his own teen daughter.
“My 19-year-old is a pacifist,” he said. “She remembers my deployments to Afghanistan. She was a little girl then. To her, my being a soldier means being away from her.”
But, according to Skanis, Latvia does not “force anyone” to use a gun if they are true pacifists or if they have a religious exemption; in that case, students must watch a classroom presentation instead.
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