Nearly 1,500 additional reservists summoned for snap exercise
For the second day in a row, the Estonian government decided in a telephone meeting to summon an additional 1,467 reservists from the Estonian Defence Forces' (EDF) 23rd Infantry Battalion for the snap exercise Okas 2019, which began on Tuesday and is to run through the end of week.
Together with the reservists of the 61st Logistics Battalion summoned on Tuesday, a total of more than 2,200 reservists have been summed for the current snap exercise.
This week marks the first time that different units of the EDF have been summoned on consecutive days.
The 61st Logistics Battalion is of critical importance to the functioning of Estonia's national defense system — they are the reservists tasked with ensuring that the 23rd Infantry Battalion summoned Wednesday as well as other units are quickly prepared to fight.
The snap exercise is training in nature, as Estonia is not currently facing any immediate security threats.
Reservists can check whether they are among those summoned at www.kaitsevaeteenistus.ee. Reservists of the 23rd Infantry Battalion can also contact +372 717 5010.
The snap exercise Okas 2019 is to serve as a readiness inspection, in the course of which the national defense chain of command is to be tested — from the decision made by the Government of the Republic to the rendezvous of rapid response reservists.
The EDF is tasked with ensuring that the state is prepared for all kinds of situations, including those whose risk of materializing are slow. The EDF must be prepared to defend Estonia as well as practice doing so at exercises.
The EDF summons reservists to bigger and smaller exercises such as Siil and Kevadtorm ("Spring Storm") with 120 days' notice on a regular basis.
-
Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!
Editor: Aili Vahtla
