"The goal is to have as many reservists as possible turn to, and ideally everyone," said Col. Mait Müürisepp of the EDF expressed some dissatisfaction with attendance rates. "Achieving an 80-90 percent attendance rate would be very good, so we are working towards that figure."

The colonel said that the exercise itself had not been perfect.

"We can never be fully satisfied. Overall, things went well, but there were many issues that need improvement, such as the decision-making speed of leaders," he said.

"We need to make this significantly faster. There are many aspects revealed during the exercise that we can train and improve," Col. Müürisepp went on.

Rainer Järvela, head of the reserve service department at the Defense Resources Agency (KRA), said: "We called up about 5,000 reservists, more specifically 4,754."

"Spring Storm annually involves around this figure. Next year, we will have Exercise Siil, which is slightly larger than Spring Storm too," he added.

Järvela said of the 4,754 called up, 3,300 reported for duty, plus an additional hundred appearing at the muster point. "So, nearly 70 percent reported as required."

This is an improvement on some past years, where the average attendance was approximately like 65 percent, Järvela went on, putting the rise down to efforts made to encourage those liable for service to attend.

In the case of those who do not show up, their reasons are investigated, and all their data is reviewed. "In the worst case, this can result in a fine of up to 300 penalty units, meaning €1,200. If the reasons are understandable and do not merit punishment, then these misdemeanor proceedings are terminated," Järvela added.

The proportion of those who failed to attend Spring Storm without valid reasons came to 10-12 percent, or a total of 533 people.

"These individuals' details are forwarded to their military superiors and the military police, to initiate misdemeanor proceedings," Järvela explained.

To address the issue, the KRA will continue to foster better communication and contact, the agency says, including ensuring that recipients even see their call-up notices, usually sent via email and also via traditional post.

"Previously, only about 85 percent saw their notices, which is not an ideal rate. This year, we reached 98 percent visibility," Järvela said. "There are various reasons why people do not attend the exercise, such as work, financial, or family issues."

The total number of legitimate exemptions to liable service came to 724. "This means we exempt 15 percent, while 10-12 percent do not show up," Järvela added.

The largest military exercise of this year, Spring Storm 2024, took place in Western Estonia from May 6 to 17 and involved both Estonian Defense Force (EDF) regulars and territorial defense units, reservists who report to their nearest volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit) unit.

The aim of training was to refresh reservists' previous skills, practice unit cooperation, and showcase the latest EDF equipment and weaponry.

The exercise also involved personnel from NATO allied nations.

Reserve lists include those who have completed conscription, as well as former regular soldiers.

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