Five years ago, the Latvian Hunters Association and the Ministry of Defence entered into a cooperation agreement to utilise hunters' skills for national defence. Russia's war in Ukraine has since refined the form of this cooperation. Multi-day comprehensive national defence training sessions are now organised for hunters. The first of these were hosted by the 4th Kurzeme Brigade of the National Guard at the "Mežaine" military training ground, bringing together hunters from various hunting collectives.
It is somewhat similar to going on a hunt – first, a group of hunters positions themselves along the forest edge, then they move inside; however, the task is military – to identify hidden strangers based on various signs, approach those encountered, and determine the reasons for their presence. Time is limited, and they manage to find one out of the six.
Other practical tasks also require agility and concentration – such as entering a building, not through the main doors, which might be booby-trapped, and avoiding underground utilities, to eliminate an enemy group, while ensuring that if one of their own has infiltrated, they are identified so as not to end up in the line of fire. (...)
Photograph by Konsta Punkka used