ESTONIAN RESERVE OFFICERS’ INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Lieutenant Commander Ingrid Mühling Member of the Board, Estonian Reserve Officers’ Association
T
he international reserve officers’ movement is older and has longer traditions than many transnational military or economic unions. The Nordic Presidium, which unites the reserve officers of the Nordic countries, was founded in the late 1930s, and the international reserve officers’ organization CIOR (Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers) started its activities a year earlier than NATO, i.e. 1948. Traditionally, reserve officers are an active part of the population, comprising people who are not indifferent to national defence issues and are unafraid to speak up in society. It is worth recalling that in the recent past, reserve officers in Estonia were advocates for a national defence model based on conscription, as well as for the broad-based defence approach. The Estonian Reserve Officers’ Association has been an active member of CIOR since its early days. Currently, the 34-member CIOR brings together the reserve officers from NATO, partner countries, as well as more distant countries, such as Republic of South Africa. Last year was a significant one for Estonia as a member of CIOR – Estonia co-chaired CIOR with the United Kingdom and it also acted as the main organizer of its collaborative events. The highlight of the year – the summer congress with a military combined event, an academic symposium, a youth reserve officers’ seminar, a civilian military cooperation exercise, and a language academy – brought over 500 reserve leaders from around the world to Estonia. It should be noted that, apart from the support of the enterprises, the Estonian Defence Forces, and the Estonian Parliament, much of the organization was carried out by reserve officers at the expense of their own time and resources. The experience of being a cochair will be beneficial in 2022, when EROA will beco-
me the full and independent chair of the international reserve officers. The cooperation events that have taken place throughout the year have made it possible to introduce our conscript and reserve service and EDF training exercises to the international community of reserve officers. There are fewer countries like Estonia where reserve officers actively contribute to national defence as a side-line to their daily work; countries where the reserve officer’s official and voluntary contributions are closely related are more common.
The international community of reserve officers is significantly different from that of active service members – uniformed volunteers include business people, public officials, and parliamentarians. The international community of reserve officers is significantly different from that of active service members – uniformed volunteers include business people, public officials, and parliamentarians. The result of international cooperation and exchange of experience among reserve officers may not be immediately usable by the EDF, but it does fall within the field of broad-based defence approach, which produces understanding and support among opinion leaders. At the beginning of the joint Presidency of the United Kingdom and Estonia, we decided that the main theme of the Presidency would be young reserve officers. Sustainability and growth of the reserve service are important from the perspective of a national defence model based on both conscription and professional army. 53
