WE ARE ALLIES Colonel Paul Clayton

WE ARE ALLIES

Colonel Paul Clayton Commander of the eFP Command in Estonia

Thank you for making 2019 such a rewarding experience for all of the UK soldiers serving in Estonia. There have been challenging exercises, new training opportunities, new partners to work with, enduring friendships and learning from each other.

In 2019 we said goodbye to the Yorkshire Regiment and the King’s Royal Hussars who together with Belgian and French partners contributed substantially to the integration and security of Estonia shoulder to shoulder with the 1st Estonian Infantry Brigade and Estonian Defence League. Towards the end of the year we welcomed the Queen’s Royal Hussars during the exercise Tractable along with paratroopers from 16th Air Assault Brigade who took part in the largest airborne jump in Estonia.

The year began with a focus on developing our training and ability to operate in extreme cold weather conditions. Ice breaking drills were overseen by highly experienced Royal Marine Mountain Leaders alongside lessons delivered by the instructors of the Estonian Defence Forces. This preparation made certain we were prepared to maximize the benefit from the Winter Camp training exercise, which saw Estonian, Belgian and British units working alongside each other and demonstrating our ability to operate as a team.

This unity and readiness was built on during the Spring Storm exercise. Ten thousand NATO soldiers from 10 alliance members proved to be a powerful demonstration of cohesion and ability to train together. Apache helicopters deployed to Estonia for the first time alongside a contingent of Wildcat helicopters returning for a second deployment after the success of their first deployment in 2018. This proved excellent training for the eFP, exercising in Sillamäe on the streets and providing reassurance to the population that NATO was committed to the security of Estonian freedom and independence.

The summer months proved no holiday with exercise Baltic Protector arriving in the Baltic Sea. British Royal Marines and members of the Estonian Defence League were in action side by side at Kolga Bay, reinforcing bonds of friendship, demonstrating the ability of Joint Expeditionary Force nations to deliver a flexible and effective capability at speed. It was also an opportunity to work with the Baltic Air Policing mission from

Boris Johnson serving Christmas dinner to British troops in Tapa during visit to Estonia in December 2019.

Ämari highlighting the totality of the capability delivered in support of the NATO mission.

Components from air, land and maritime training collectively were an extremely impressive sight to behold. The King’s Royal Hussars conducted a joint training exercise with EDL counterparts sharing knowledge and skills during Exercise Hunt and it is clear that there are many more opportunities to train together.

We were also very fortunate to take part in the 150th Anniversary of the Estonian Song and Dance festival. UK soldiers learned a song in Estonian and joined a community choir in Tapa to celebrate a very special moment in Estonian culture. Getting soldiers to sing is no small achievement, and so successful was the participation that it was reported in the UK national media. We were also able to support the setting of the impressive Song Festival grounds. All of the soldiers who took part said it was the highlight of their time in Estonia and helped them to understand the culture and history of Estonia.

The third quarter of 2019 focused on the rotation of equipment and the UK Battlegroup between the King’s Royal Hussars and the Queen’s Royal Hussars. It was the UK largest deployment of equipment across Europe in nearly 30 years and saw the return of Wildcat and Apache helicopters to Estonia. It was also a first for paratroopers from 16th Air Assault Brigade jumping into Estonia for the first time showing UK high readiness troops ability to reinforce NATO allies at very short notice. The logistical planning and coordination of train movements carrying over 200 armoured vehicles, planes transporting 800 soldiers and vehicles driving over 1,300 km through 12 countries was an impressive feat achieved by allies working together.

As the end of 2019 approached, we looked forward to the NATO leaders’ summit hosted in London and it was useful to reflect on the achievement of collective security over the past 70 years. 2019 showed good progress in what can be achieved when allies train and work together. Lessons and experienced are shared but we are also able to anticipate new threats. For the first time in 2019, eFPC trained in the cyber domain during training exercise Cyber Fog. We learned from the experiences of Estonian partners and the Cyber Centre of Excellence to develop our tactics and procedures in the event of a cyber attack and highlighted the need to constantly train and develop a collective response to threats of the future.

The year ended with the UK Prime Minister visiting troops in Tapa, highlighting the importance of the mission and reinforcing UK commitment to NATO. He took the opportunity to serve some of the troops Christmas dinner and engaged with Estonian media. It was a nice way to round off an exceptionally busy and rewarding year. I’ve no doubt that 2020 will be equally as rewarding. There is lots to look forward to and opportunities to further develop and train together as allies are many. Exciting times ahead.

I’m very grateful for the support, attitude, camaraderie and soldier spirit of our Estonian hosts shown at every level during 2019. I’ve every confidence that a new decade will bring new challenges but together we will face them with a determined resolve that WeAreNATO, WeAreAllies, WeAreReady.

TRACTABLE 19 – WHAT DID IT MEAN TO US?

Colonel Toomas Susi Commander of the Support Command of the Estonian Defence Forces

The Tractable 19 exercise was undoubtedly one of the toughest challenges for the Estonian Defence Forces last year, entailing the need to join the forces and ideas of two countries, Estonia and the United Kingdom, both in planning and terrain activities.

The exercise, which has been organized for years, is a British military logistics exercise and it usually does not involve partners from other countries. The exercise organized in the late autumn of 2019 was, therefore, unique in many ways – in addition to involving Estonians, this was also the first time that the operation was held in Estonia.

This great opportunity was presented to us by the commander of the British led NATO battle group that had been deployed in Estonia. His aim was to replace unit’s equipment and personnel located in Estonia: Queen’s Royal Hussars replaced the King’s Royal Hussars here.

The new arrivals brought their upgraded equipment, they had a leading role throughout the exercise. Those who left took their existing equipment, which needed maintenance – it had been tested thoroughly in various joint training activity. TRAINING FOR COLLABORATION In accordance with a topical and rather realistic scenario, the exercise Tractable 19 was launched to reinforce the British allied forces located in Estonia. According to the scenario, within a short period of time, a considerable amount of equipment and British troops were brought here to confront the enemy.

In numbers, this meant about 200 vehicles and 800 service members. In order to practise various scenarios and put more pressure on the leadership of these units, the allies were deployed to Estonia from the United Kingdom by using all considerable means of transport – the units were moved from country to country by air, sea, rail, and road transport.

In order to make the situation even more complicated and tense, the organizers of the exercise constantly provided participants with situations where they needed to quickly change their plans, adapt to a new situation, as well as find appropriate solutions and solve complex situations. In practice, movement in such a manner to the positions located in Estonia took place through much of Europe; the units began their journey from their bases in the United Kingdom, as well as in Germany.

The Tractable 19 exercise was undoubtedly one of the toughest challenges for the Estonian Defence Forces last year.

The aim of Tractable was clearly defence-oriented. In practice, the deployment of units to Estonia in case of possible aggression had to be tested in order to bolster the forces already here. The British practised their procedures and moved the units in every possible way. Estonians, in turn, got to practise bringing in and receiving allied troops on a larger scale than usual, in a relatively small window of time, as well as simultaneously through various transport channels.

In fact, the whole exercise involved even more people and areas than it might seem. The main unit that was trained and assessed on the Estonian side, was the Support Command of the Estonian Defence Forces, which operated largely through its headquarters and employing the Movement and Transport Service, which, in turn, involved the Military Police of the Estonian Defence Forces and the voluntary security units of the Defence League.

In practice, this was not all – the staff officers of the exercise, organizers, evaluators, representatives in the

TROOPS FROM UK ROTATED TO ESTONIA

Norway

Sweden Finland

TAPA

France Germany

Poland Belarus

field, and others also received a significant workload, excellent experiences, and useful lessons. All the elements of the exercise and of the involved headquarters, from personnel to the CIMIC and public affairs, practised their procedures and even more effective cooperation between the Estonian and British units – they all had a role to play. VALUABLE LESSON “What does that mean to us anyway?” – this was the most common question I heard from journalists and many others about last year’s Tractable. The value of this whole venture cannot be overstated or fully explained from a technical or political point of view on these pages, but in very brief and simplistic terms it meant three things to me.

Firstly, this venture meant a very valuable lesson and experience for us. The exercise created a high-intensity situation for us as recipients, in which much of the knowledge we have accumulated was put into practice. While the Movement and Transport Service of the Support Command of the Estonian Defence Forces is engaged in this work on a daily basis by welcoming allies, planning and organizing their movements in Estonia, and taking the units of the Estonian Defence Forces abroad and to missions, as a rule, not all possible approaches or such scales are combined under normal circumstances. And this nuance added both tension and weight to the whole venture. In addition, it helped to deepen cooperation and training with the Military Police of the Estonian Defence Forces and Defence League units that support operations.

Secondly, it meant that our relationship with the British as allies was growing and developing, becoming ever more secure. Tractable led to close communications and the strengthening of relations with our British allies. Aside from military missions, such joint exercises are the best way to learn to act together and work towards one goal, to practise cooperation. At the end of the day, our allies are the ones we rely on for support and whom we are always ready to help in times of trouble. But in order to really be ready to work together in a serious situation, it is necessary to practice together.

Thirdly, the successful organization of this joint exercise cemented the firm belief that in the future we would be able to accept any major ally if it were needed at some point. This is good and encouraging to know.

Collaborative exercises, such as Tractable, bring allied militaries closer to one another. This does not only apply to the defence forces but also to nations. The United Kingdom has been a longstanding ally to Estonia after the latter regained independence. However, we were also bound by alliance already during the Estonian War of Independence.

As the British repeatedly confirmed during this exercise, the operation Tractable 19 and our engagement with it represents a strong message that our alliance is getting stronger even though the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. After all, these allied relationships, these ties between states, units, and people are at least as much a guarantee of our security as the finely honed skills of deploying additional units to a crisis hotspot in just a few days.

UGV

Period in Mali: from May 2019 Maximum payload weigth: 1200 kg Maximum speed: up to 25 km/h Weight: 1,630 kg Dimensions: 2 x 2.4 m Range (maximum distance between the device and the remote): 1.5 km

Operating time without additional refuelling: up to 10 + 1.5 hours Payload capacity: 1,000 litres Number of cameras: 6 Weapon integrations tested: 7.62 mm machine gun 12.7 mm heavy machine gun 40 mm automatic grenade launcher Javelin anti-tank missile