{"id":61570,"date":"2020-03-16T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T00:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/16\/estonias-top-military-officer-on-putting-aside-national-interests-for-regional-defense\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:39:08","slug":"estonias-top-military-officer-on-putting-aside-national-interests-for-regional-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/interviews\/2020\/03\/16\/estonias-top-military-officer-on-putting-aside-national-interests-for-regional-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Estonia\u2019s top military officer on putting aside national interests for regional defense"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 As one of the three Baltic nations, Estonia represents NATO\u2019s front line in any potential conflict with Russia. And while each of the Baltic states has its own individual defense priorities, it is widely accepted that any conflict would involve all three \u2014 Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maj. Gen. Martin Herem, the chief of Estonia\u2019s Defence Forces, believes it\u2019s time for the nations to start thinking regionally instead of parochially. He talked to Defense News about this and other security issues during a February visit to Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From an Estonian perspective, what are you looking to see come out of the <\/b>Defender Europe 2020<\/b><\/a> exercise?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most obvious and the easiest thing that will be achieved already is a message. In Europe we have discussions on where America is. Are they are moving away from Europe, [abandoning us]? Or, will [the U.S. support us] against the threat from the east? And this is definitely a message, that tens of thousands of people deploy to Europe \u2014 that costs money, but that also shows attitude. And it is not just to protect the American interests. So that\u2019s very clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second thing, which may be the more important for me, because I have no doubts that America will support us if it is needed \u2014 it is that we will exercise our capability to receive the reinforcement. From our side, we have a possibility to exercise our command post and our headquarters. So we\u2019ll get a much better understanding of what we have to do to receive reinforcement. And hopefully in future exercises, we\u2019ll have a better understanding what kind of conditions we must create militarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exercise differs a little bit \u2014 a lot, actually \u2014 from many other exercises, where we just deploy the battalion or brigade to some area, then they do the live-firing exercise, we cooperate, different nations are cooperating, we enjoy the crowd and international environment \u2014 but we can do it in New Zealand or Greenland or wherever. It doesn\u2019t exercise the reinforcement of this region. This Defender \u201920 definitely will do this. And that\u2019s, again, very important. It will train, or educate, us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO and its European Union counterparts have spent a lot of time <\/b>talking about military mobility<\/b><\/a>. We\u2019ve heard complaints that the effort isn\u2019t moving quickly enough. What\u2019s your take on where it stands?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think maybe the main development has happened in our brains. I think there is not too much to do in the physical world. I mean, yeah, there are problems that we have too narrow roads or too weak bridges or our railway system has certain limits, but we can do it anyway. The most important [part] is that we understand where we have to put a bit more something, and then how to regulate when we give the order to civil society that says, \u201cDon\u2019t drive here, just a few days when you must hold back your activity,\u201d which is OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huge impact to economy, usually, but that\u2019s, again, the kind of mindset \u2014 that if we need, then we do it. But, again, all these PESCO [Permanent Structured Cooperation] studies<\/a> and things \u2014 we have now mapped roads, bridges, railways, seaports, airports, and we understand much better the capacity of this, of this infrastructure, and what we have to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have also some understanding of how much it costs. But the main developments, again, have happened, I think, in our knowledge, in our understanding. We are changing very slowly … there are a lot of things to improve. But if you ask: Can we physically do it? Then I say, yes. But are we ready to do it? Are we ready to change our priorities in daily life?<\/p>\n\n\n\t