Nearly 900 young adults to start conscription in Estonia's October call-up
On October 14-15, around 880 young adults will be entering conscription service in the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), the Defense Resources Agency (KRA) announced.
Among the call-up selectees in the EDF's latest call-up are six young women, seven groups of friends as well as 13 selectees reporting from their homes in Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, Sweden and Germany, KRA highlighted.
"The willingness of call-up selectees living abroad to come to their homeland for conscription service demonstrates that their commitment to the country and connection to life here remains strong," said KRA Director General Anu Rannaveski.
Of those entering conscription service this month, 48 percent are doing so voluntarily.
"There are more and more young folks voluntarily entering service," Rannaveski highlighted, noting that last October, 46 percent of call-up selectees to enter service did so on their own initiative. "In 2021, that figure was 38 percent."
The newest class of conscripts will be stationed in various units across Estonia. These include the Estonian Division's Headquarters and Signal Battalion at Ämari, the division's 2nd Infantry Brigade in Võru, its Artillery Battalion in Tapa as well as its 1st Infantry Brigade at the EDF's Tapa and Jõhvi bases.
Training for the October class will last eight months, during which conscripts will be trained for ranks in the EDF. Conscripts will acquire skills for coping in difficult conditions, basic knowledge of national defense as well as how to function successfully as a unified team, the agency stated.
Call-ups for conscription service in Estonia take place three times a year. October's call-up will be the last of this calendar year.
The next call-up will take place on January 13, 2025.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Aili Vahtla