Why THOUSANDS of young men are joining the military voluntarily here

Описание: Would you die for your country?

Deivids knows his answer to the question. He’s 27, Latvian and just a short while ago, he was working as a handyman in England where he spent most of his life. Since January 2025, he has been back, fully committed to military training just 30 kilometers from the Russian border. Why would someone give up a chill life for 24 hours of military drill?

We spent two days with Deivids to understand what drives him and why he’s not the only one in Latvia preparing for the worst-case scenario.

This film was produced for ChatEurope in cooperation with ENTR.
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00:00 - 01:07: Meet Deivids: From handyman to soldier
01:07 - 02:44: Latvia’s conscription and volunteer commitment
02:44 – 04:07: Why Deivids moved back to Latvia
04:07 - 04:48: How Latvia is ramping up its military
04:48 - 06:24: Military training – Deivids’ challenges and highlights
06:24 - 09:03: Facing Fear: War, Propaganda, and Hope
09:03 -11:17: Deivids future plans

CREDITS:
Author: Nele Schmidt
Commissioning Editor: Lukas Hansen
Camera: Artūrs Reinholds
Video Editor: Chris Edgar Schalko
Motion Editor: Hermann Wirt, Christian Kuhn
Voice: Madelaine Pitt