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The Ministry of Defense announced yesterday that the USA will send extra troops to Estonia and the other Baltic states already in the coming weeks.
The USA will deploy in Estonia an infantry company and a unit of HIMARS multiple rocket launchers complete with the command and control equipment and systems. The units will participate in joint exercises with the Estonian Defense Forces to improve cooperation ability and are prepared to defend Estonia if that should be necessary.
The armed forces of Estonia and the United States also cooperate to develop a divisional structure within the NATO framework. Estonia joins the highly recognized U.S. Warfighter program consisting of a series of exercises culminating in a certification exercise for the participating corps and division units.
According to Martin Herem, Commander of the Defense Forces, we can consider a US infantry battalion in our future defense plans. The American personnel of the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, which will enter Estonia's arsenal in 2025, will start training our HIMARS crews. Herem noted: “The HIMARS unit definitely includes more than ten men. And I think that about 30 percent of this unit are women.” By 2025, Estonia will buy six HIMARS systems from the Americans for more than 200 million dollars.
Herem emphasized that the units will operate as part of the Estonian division.
“The infantry company will be part of the 2nd brigade and will be located in Võru. The HIMARS will stay in Tapa as divisional assets. But regarding fire control, force protection, support in case of these multiple rocket launchers, all brigades, territorial defense, the Support Command will definitely cooperate with them. So they can be seen all over Estonia. Definitely during the next year, including the Kevadtorm exercise,” said Herem at the press conference. Since the US units coming to Estonia are part of the division's battle plan, Herem believes that the Americans will also assign some staff officers to the division HQ.
According to Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (RE), the snowball started rolling at the beginning of the summer at the NATO Madrid Summit, where the President of the United States, Joe Biden, expressed his desire to strengthen the eastern flank. In October, Pevkur met his US colleague Lloyd Austin in Washington. According to Pevkur, it was an intermediate finish where they reached an agreement in principle, which was followed by work with details until this week.
In addition to the transfer of US troops, a NATO battle group (Enhanced Forward Presence) led by the United Kingdom is currently serving in Estonia, which also includes French and Danish units and Icelandic experts. In addition, there is the Baltic Air Security Mission in Estonia, currently under the responsibility of the German Air Force.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the presence of an American mechanized battalion and a field artillery battery in Lithuania will be changed from episodic to permanent rotation. The military impact of the infantry company staying in Estonia is more modest next to this move. According to Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), the reason lies in the Suwałki corridor, the capture of which would allow the enemy to cut off the Baltic states from the rest of Western Europe.
Pevkur emphasized to Postimees that although the USA looks at the Baltic states together and the current decisions affected all the Baltic states, the negotiations were held individually. “We proceeded from our own needs, how to protect the Estonian state and build up the divisional structure," said Pevkur.
In recent weeks, the debate over the expansion of the Nursipalu training ground been at the forefront of the mass media, but Pevkur made it clear that this move is essential because we are running out of reception capacity for the allies. As we recall, the United Kingdom only recently assigned one brigade to the Estonian division. “If we would like to receive other formations, our current capabilities are quite limited. We cannot promise any longer that we can offer them training opportunities or normal barracks conditions. Yes, we are almost stretched to the limit.”
He emphasized that the allies know, of course, how large our training areas are. “They know the intensity of use of the central training ground; they know how large Nursipalu is. There is no doubt here. They also know how many personnel we can place in one place or another.”
The government amended the statute of the Defense Forces to form a division as a structural unit of the Defense Forces as agreed at the NATO Madrid Summit.
“This is a historic decision, which on the one hand shows the development of our Defense Forces, but also the integration with NATO,” Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur announced yesterday.
“Forming the division will significantly increase our defense and resistance capability,” he said in a government press release.
By amending the statute, the Minister of Defense is granted the right to appoint the division commander. The appointment will be based on the recommendation of the Defense Forces Commander.
The structure of the division includes the 1st and 2nd infantry brigades, the logistics battalion and the headquarters and communications battalion, as well as an allied brigade, which, according to previous agreements, is the brigade allocated by the United Kingdom for the defense of Estonia.
“The division creates better opportunities to plan and practice the military defense of Estonia and the broader Baltic region within the framework of NATO. This creates opportunities for rapid use of the forces and capabilities which are located in the country and deployed as reinforcements. The forming of the divisional headquarters and the whole division is a major challenge. To do this, we have to reorganize the General Staff of the Defense Forces and some other subdivisions of the Defense Forces. In the training of the division, we are supported by our allies from the United Kingdom and the United States. The United Kingdom has decided to contribute its units to the division,” said Lieutenant General Martin Herem, Commander of the Defense Forces.
The division is a wartime formation and a permanently operating structural unit, the main task of which is to plan and execute military operations with its organic and temporarily attached units within its area of responsibility. The division's operational area covers the entire territory of Estonia.
If necessary, the division can be included in the NATO chain of command by the command authority of the Commander of the Defense Forces.
Alar Karis, President of the Republic
The decision of the United States to increase its military presence in Estonia is a source of joy and confidence. This follows President Joe Biden's remarks at the NATO summit in Madrid.
In this way, the USA has once again shown its commitment to decisively contribute to Estonia's security. The decision strengthens our defense capability and also sends a message to Moscow that the US remains committed to the defense of Estonia, the Baltic states and Europe. Thus, we can once again state that our defense bond is unwavering.
The US troops are very welcome in Estonia and we expect them already in the coming weeks. As the highest leader of the National Defense, I am convinced that everyone whose mission it is to stand for Estonia's security will do their best to ensure that the arrival of the US units in Estonia goes smoothly. We are more effective and stronger when operating together!
“As part of our ongoing commitment to our Baltic Allies, the U.S. will deploy a HIMARS platoon and an infantry company to Estonia in the coming weeks. At the Madrid Summit, President Biden committed to enhanced rotational deployments and a heel-to-toe presence in the Baltic region. These forces are part of that enhanced presence model. The near-persistent deployment of U.S. forces and capabilities to Estonia are part of our commitment to strengthening our collective defense and deterrence posture on NATO’s eastern flank.”
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