A founder of the National Soldiers' Union as a Latvian Rifleman in World War I, Dambītis formally became the first soldier in the Latvian Army by placing volunteer units under the command of the People's Council of Latvia when it proclaimed Latvia's independence on November 18, 1918.
He was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Defense during the Independence War.
After the war he served in various high-ranking posts in military supply and administration, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Chief of the General Staff in 1935 and his retirement in 1939.
He remained in Latvia after the retreat of the Red Army in 1941, was arrested by the Gestapo and interned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp until 1945.
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