Spring Storm 2013 exercise to be held in North Estonia

Photo: Mihkel Maripuu

Spring Storm, the largest annual military exercise of the Estonian defense forces, will be held in Harju County and adjacent areas from May 9-25 and for the first time ever the Navy will take part in it.

Spring Storm 2013 will be held in Harju County, including Tallinn, and partially also in West-Viru and Jaärva County, spokespeople for the exercise told BNS. For the first time ever the Navy will take part. Also to take part are one infantry company from the United Kingdom and Latvia each, a reconnaissance platoon from Lithuania and an anti-aircraft missile platoon from Belgium.

Most of the exercise, in which altogether more than 4,000 uniformed personnel are to take part, will pass in the territory of the defense forces' central training ground on the border of Harju and West-Viru counties. On May 21-23 the units taking part in the exercise will move from the central training ground into the territory of the Anija rural municipality via the municipalities of Tapa, Albu and Aegviidu. The active phase of the exercise will end with a counter-attack in the region between the Soodla reservoir and the Tallinn-Narva road in the Kuusalu municipality on May 24.

Additionally, separate operations have been planned in the Joelahtme rural municipality's Kaberneeme and Jagala areas, at Loksa, and the Song Festival Ground, TV Tower and Iru Bridge areas of Tallinn from May 19-23.

"Spring Storm will this year bring together in North Estonia conscripts, reservists, Kaitseliit members and professional military, as well as our NATO allies with one common goal: to learn to better defend Estonia," said the commanding officer of the exercise, Commander of the Army Col. Artur Tiganik.  "During the weeks to come we will train ourselves and get an assurance that our defense plans hold."

The exercise will serve as the graduation exam for an infantry battalion made up of conscripts, whose members will enter the reserve after the exercise. For the duration of the exercise sub-units of the Army and the Navy will be set up of reservists, along with units of the Harju, Tallinn and Rapla regional units of Kaitseliit.

Counter-action will be performed primarily by the Scouts Battalion, to which the UK and Latvian infantry companies as well as the Lithuanian reconnaissance platoon will be subordinated. The Belgian anti-aircraft missile platoon will participate in the exercise as part of the Air Defense Battalion and in addition Polish Sukhoi Su-22 attack aircraft will take part.

A line-up at the Kuusalu stadium on May 25 will mark the end of the 11th Spring Storm.

The annual exercise is held in a different region of Estonia each year. The first exercise in 2003 was held in West-Viru County and last year's exercise took place in the East-Viru and West-Viru counties.