Today, for the third time now, Estonia celebrates its Veterans Day. First and foremost, this is the day for such Estonian servicemen as have been to foreign missions, as well as a time to remember the wounded. By now, our very own veterans number nearly 2,700.
During the first days of April, the Blue Hepatica «Anname au!» (we salute you) campaign again kicked into gear, offering all the opportunity to support Defence Forces and Defence League veterans and their loved ones. Also, the lapel pin provides for a way to openly show respect. The Veterans Day events, underway for quite a while, will today culminate by the Veterans’ Rock concert on Freedom Square, Tallinn featuring Defence Forces orchestra recruits band, Kosmikud, and Winny Puhh. For those unable to attend, TV coverage is provided.
Today, Postimees printed a selection of Defence Forces photo contest «My Afghanistan 2003–2014». The pictures by Estonian soldiers are telling a story of the everydayness of military life far from home... the terrible hotness, the armed conflicts, the warm encounters with locals. Eleven years worth of memories, lives deeply touched both there and back home.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan far from the only tough spot of the world, the Estonian flag has been hoisted at foreign missions from Kosovo to Central African Republic. By allies, the skills and input of our servicemen have always received high praise. Doubtless, this has served to fortify Estonia’s own security. With many an allied unit at exercises in Estonia over these past five years, adding a measure of stability to us in the world now in turmoil, a vital prerequisite for that has been the service shown by our present day veterans, shoulder to shoulder with partnering nations.
This morning, at the memorial brought home to Paldiski from Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, tribute was paid to our fallen. In addition to lives lost, dozens of our sons have been wounded. Daily, we are now reading about the ugliness of war and armed conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle-East and elsewhere. In less than three weeks, the world will be commemorating the end of WW2 battles in Europe. Truly, global history is the story of wars and the brief pauses in between. The almost uninterrupted peace in Europe since 1945 is something to be highly prized – while ascribing honour to the veterans in our midst.