In recent months, several generals have announced their departure from active service. EDF Commander Gen. Martin Herem, the Estonian Division Commander Maj. Gen. Veiko-Vello Palm and the former Defense League head, Maj. Gen. Riho Ühtegi, has stated that they are leaving the EDF.

Gen. Palm was one of the potential candidates for the position of commander of the Estonian Defense Forces but was not selected.

According to former EDF head Terras, there is a scarcity of general positions in the Defense Forces. "In the armed forces, when one becomes the EDF commander, the others who applied – leave. It's quite tight at the top," Terras said. He noted that a few years ago, the age at which generals left was even younger.

Security expert Meelis Oidsalu observed that fatigue was apparent in Martin Herem, resulting from the public political struggle that the EDF commander had to engage in to protect the military's reputation.

Oidsalu pointed out that previously, politicians made efforts to get rid of generals with whom they disagreed, but now they are leaving on their own. "It's worth considering where Estonian political culture has arrived. One could say that, in some sense, the information war against the defense forces by EKRE is bearing its first fruits," Oidsalu said.

According to Oidsalu, Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) should have taken into account that the Defense Forces operates on a meritocratic system. "It's somewhat strange when he goes on 'Aktuaalne kaamera' and says that his only criterion is to make the selection quickly. That's a weird signal," Oidsalu mentioned.

According to Riho Terras, former commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, the Ministry of Defense acted hastily when it announced the candidates for the position of the commander of the Defense Forces and then later dismissed them. "There's nothing inappropriate about the defense minister deciding on a preference. Make him a general in the process, go through members of the Riigikogu Defense Committee, discuss the process, find allies and don't discard those who don't make it through the process. This chaos is very clearly created by the defense minister," Terras stated.

Terras added that there has been similar competition for the position of the commander of the Defense Forces in the past.

Terras believes it's unjustified for rumors to be decisive in the selection of the defense chief. "If rumors become decisive in settling on the commander of the Defense Forces – that's not normal. Where were these stories before? Gen. Palm was the deputy commander of the EDF. It's not sensible to continue this talk," said Terras.

According to Terras, it's now necessary to achieve internal peace, and next time, consideration should be given earlier to who will be the future commander of the Defense Forces.

Meelis Oidsalu mentioned the devastating impact of long-term accusations. "If you have been publicly hammered for years about how the Defense Forces is taking over the country. Some officials have said about Palm that if he comes to power, there will be a junta. Such random and off-the-cuff accusations – they have their impact," said Oidsalu.

Terras believes that former servicemen engaging in defamation should consider that they are damaging the reputation of their former employer. "In recent years, it has been much more of a trend to disparage the leadership of the Defense Forces. This is very bad in terms of organizational culture," said Terras.

Terras noted that generals should be aware that they will have to leave their positions at some point. "In America, from the rank of major general, you know that you can be fired on the spot. That's normal," Terras remarked.

Terras mentioned that similar departures in the Defense Forces also occur in the police, the Internal Security Service, and the Information Board. Oidsalu added that a high pension encourages this.

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