During the refresher training, reservists of the Mobility and Transport Service of the Support Command were able to actively perform unit-specific tasks. This included the reception of allied forces arriving for the Hedgehog (Siil) 25 exercise, which starts next week. Those forces arrived safely with the support of the reservists and are now preparing for the start of the exercise.

"The two main objectives of this additional training exercise were to achieve unit combat readiness and to carry out combat tasks, including the reception of additional allied units for Hedgehog," said Maj. Toomas Pärnpuu, commander of the Mobility and Transport Service. "During the first week, the units were formed and a refresher training was conducted, after which we started to conduct combat missions, which included receiving allied ships, aircraft and trains."

Maj. Pärnpuu added that the reception of trains in an environment where there was no conventional loading infrastructure that was a particularly significant task during the exercise.

"This situation has never been played out in practice before and it worked very well. The reservists gained valuable experience in different operations and, in several cases, had the opportunity to work with trains and planes for the first time. All the tasks were accomplished and we can be satisfied with the result," Maj. Pärnpuu said.

"This is already the fifth training session for me, and it is more than twenty years since I completed my military service," said Capt. Marek Bankiir, a reservist in the Mobility and Transport Service.

"The development of the Defense Forces during this time has been colossal. The active soldiers may not notice it so clearly, but when you come back from the outside, the difference is huge. Just the infrastructure we use – it's like night and day."

Okas 25-1 is the first additional training exercise to have taken place in 2025. The broader aim of the exercise was to test the functioning of the national defense chain of command, from decision-making by the Government of the Republic to the deployment of the Rapid Reaction Force reserves and the Defense League (Kaitseliit), as well as to check combat readiness.

In addition to additional training exercises, the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) regularly invite reservists to major and minor training exercises such as Hedgehog (Siil) and Kevadtorm (Spring Storm), providing notice of 120 days. Estonia informs NATO and its neighboring countries about the exercises in advance in accordance with international agreements.

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