The first wave of reservists will arrive for exercise Ussisõnad on Wednesday. The reservists expected to attend were assigned to territorial defense units in 2022.

Commander of the Estonian Defense League (Kaitseliit) Maj. Gen. Riho Ühtegi said, that the exercises will be divided by territorial defense region, beginning in the north.

The exercise is one of the largest logistical operations the EDF has conducted since the restoration of Estonia's independence, with the need to supply nearly half a million items of equipment to almost 10,000 reserve troops.

Last year, the decision was made to increase the number of reservists in Estonia by 10,000. Reservists were then given the opportunity to register voluntarily and able to choose the local unit they wanted to join.

According to Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Gen. Martin Herem, more than 1,400 people took advantage of that opportunity.

Gen. Herem said, that the increase in size of Estonia's territorial defense force means each of the country's county will have over 1,000 reservist soldiers. The assembled units will stay in their home counties, and in some cases even in their own municipalities, he added.

Ühtegi added that the dramatic increase in size of Estonia's territorial defense force will certainly provide a challenge. "It looks like we can handle it. And whatever we can't, will need to be addressed going forward," he said.

According to Ühtegi, the exercises will be led by the commanders of the different territorial defense districts. However the main burden will be on local defense units, which will be responsible for working with the new recruits.

"The main objective is to integrate the reserve groups as soon as possible into the existing ground forces. The exercise also has to show where the weaknesses in the system are when it comes to supporting significantly larger units," Ühtegi said.

The reservists will have the same equipment as members of the Defense League. The exercises will consist of three phases. First leadership training, second, refresher training and third, execution of tasks in the reservists' designated areas of responsibility, Ühtegi said.

During the exercise, there will be increased military activity according to the following schedule:

Area of responsibility of the Northern Territorial Defense Region: August 28– September 10.

Area of responsibility of the Northeast Territorial Defense Region: September 13–22.

Area of responsibility of the Western Territorial Defense Region: September 20–29.

Area of responsibility of the Southern Territorial Defense Region: September 15–24, and September 29–October 8.

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