The Estonian army will summon almost 8,300 reservists, the biggest number since 1991, for training next year, the national defence forces officials said on Wednesday.
"8,295 reservists will be called for the training next year. It is about the biggest planned number of those called up for training. In 2018, about 7,000 reservists were planned to be summoned for the training, and in 2015 a bit more than 7,500," Major Ivo Reimann told the Estonian ERR broadcaster, adding that 400 more people can join voluntarily.
The current COVID-19 situation might influence the military training, according to Targo Lusti, the chief medical officer of the defence forces, but both the state and the military scale up preventive measures against COVID-19.
Over half of adults in Estonia have been vaccinated, and can autonomously get a corresponding certificate via the state portal, Lusti told the media. But the defence forces are ready to carry out the necessary testing of reservists.
Officers are the first out of the reserve force to be called up, followed by sergeants, and then by common soldiers. The maximum duration of the training is 30 days for officers, 21 days for sergeants, and 14 days for soldiers. (ANI/Sputnik)
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor