Major General Kaspars Pudāns, Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), said April 22 that the practice of officers being handed a ceremonial sword upon graduation should be preserved, while admitting that the surprisingly large cost of doing so might be reduced.
Speaking on Latvian Television’s “Morning Panorama” programme, Pudāns argued that officers are instilled with a sense of belonging to their unit and the armed forces when they are presented with the purely decorative weapons, so the tradition of presenting the sword must be preserved, however, he acknowledged that publicly announced amount for the purchase of parade swords – 900,000 euros – might be trimmed.
“Moral strength is formed by belonging to one’s unit, to one’s armed forces, which we instill in our soldiers, officers through history, traditions. These various elements create a sense of belonging, loyalty, and confidence in why one takes an oath to one’s country,” said the NBS commander, though he did not elaborate on whether officers might feel they belonged less because they didn’t have a sword.
He said that the tradition of presenting swords to officers in Latvia was established during the interwar period and renewed in 2018. Pudāns believes it is important to continue it:
“For 50 years, our armed forces were disbanded, stagnant, traditions were not formed. This is one of the traditions that we are restoring, and there are few left that we inherit from our predecessors,” he said.
At the same time, Pudāns admitted that the announced purchase amount for the parade swords – 900,000 euros – does not correspond to the real need, nor how many officers are honored in this way after graduating from the National Defence Academy.
It emerged last week that the Ministry of Defence had planned to spend a total of 900,000 euros in the coming years on the purchase of parade swords for officers of the National Armed Forces. Similar contracts worth hundreds of thousands of euros have already been concluded in previous years for the supply of such items.
Defense Minister Andris Sprūds (Progressives) ordered a halt to the procurement of officers’ parade swords, stressing that weapons with a practical rather than symbolic capability are a rather more pressing need at the moment.
The ministry noted that the swords were intended for issuance to current and future officers – graduates of the National Defence Academy. In addition, the ministry noted that the current Cabinet regulations define the components of an officer’s uniform, which include a sword with a sword holder and a sword tassel.
The tradition of presenting the sword was established in 1920, and the sword is presented by the President of the Republic.
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