Exercise Ymir started on April 19 and brings together personnel from both of the EDF's infantry brigades, i.e. the 1st and 2nd , while the exercise itself is organized by the Viru Battalion, part of the 1st brigade and the main conscript training unit.

"With Exercise Ymir we are training all infantry units, and polishing their cooperation with combat support units," said Viru Battalion commander Lt. Col. Tarvo Luga.

"We are paying special attention to training which will develop efficiency in situation assessments and decision making. By the end of the exercise, we want to have achieved well-performing infantry companies, which are ready to operate within a battalion framework," Lt. Col. Luga went on.

Exercise Ymir is aimed at tactical problem solving under pressure, the EDF reported in a press release, with the exercise's first stage providing up to six scenarios per company, and the second phase maintaining combat capability within a unit, on top of command performance.

Units will also be able to rehearse interoperability and cooperation, and receive feedback on performance, ahead of the annual mass exercise Spring Storm, this year as last year a necessarily scaled-down affair as a result of COVID-19 consideration.

The exercise culminates in a combat shooting stage dubbed Tornado, which takes place in early May.

The 1st Infantry Brigade is largely comprised of mechanized, heavy infantry and its accompanying components, while the 2nd Brigade is undergoing the process of mechanization, in accordance with Estonian defense doctrine.

The EDF is composed of both conscripts and volunteers, while it maintains large reserve lists and is also bolstered by the volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), recruited on a territorial basis.

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