The facility is intended as a mustering zone where allied personnel can convene and make necessary preparations in line with NATO defensive plans, before heading into combat against an aggressor.

Dubbed the Reedo military base, the 14-building development is now open in the village of Juba, just outside Võru, and brings up to par with Tapa base the facilities serving South Estonia, the Estonian Defense Forces' (EDF) 2nd Brigade, and NATO personnel – including those from the U.S. - to be deployed there.

Col. Mati Tikerpuu, commander of the EDF's 2nd Infantry Brigade said: "This zone allows a unit to mass, quartermaster supplies, prep themselves and head to a battlezone."

"This improves our response time, as these areas get made ready during peacetime," he went on."

Peeter Karja, Southern Portfolio Manager at the Center for Defense Investments (RKIK), the state agency that deals with defense procurement, said: "Everything which we have established here serves accommodation, hygiene, catering services and vehicle maintenance needs."

"But there has been this question that when we start to build up this area, then we will need more of an area. As a result, we have put the buildings as close to one another as possible," he went on, noting that this will also help to conserve trees in the heavily forested region.

Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said: "The base's construction has cost taxpayers just over €20 million. This is certainly a very conservative build. When you walk around, then you can see that nothing has been done opulently — conditions are quite spartan."

The area surrounding the new facility is known locally as Tsiatsungõlmaa, or "Seasongermaa" in the local Võru language, and bearing in mind the base will host NATO troops from other countries, it has been renamed Reedo, for ease of pronunciation.

Reedo base also has water and sewage plumbed in from scratch, which has also permitted local residents in the villages of Võlsi and Juba, previously off-grid, to be able to connect to public water networks.

The base is not only to host allied personnel, but local EDF troops as well.

"The area is close to training grounds, so our units can stop here when they come for training," Tikerpuu added.

As it happened, the first troops to make use of the base were EDF soldiers, who had already taken part in defensive exercises there.

The EDF's 1st Infantry Brigade (North) is based at Tapa, Lääne-Viru County, together with allied personnel, chiefly from the U.K.

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