Portal:Military of Estonia/Intro
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The Military of Estonia officially known as the Estonian Defence Forces - is the name of the unified armed forces of the Republic of Estonia with Maavägi (Army), Merevägi (Navy), Õhuvägi (Air Force) and a paramilitary organization Kaitseliit (Defence League). The national defence policy aims to guarantee the preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the state, the integrity of its land area, territorial waters and airspace and its constitutional order. Its main goals remain the development and maintenance of a credible capability to defend the nation's vital interests and development of the Defence Forces in a way that ensures their interoperability with the armed forces of NATO and European Union member states and their capability to participate in the full range of Alliance missions.
Approximately 5,600 men and women serve in the EDF. The Estonian military is an army in reserv with another 46,000 trained soldiers in reserv and additional 20,000 men and women in the paramilitary force of the Defence League.
After Estonia had declared independence on 24 February 1918 the armed forces of Estonia were established on 16 November 1918, shortly after the end of the First World War in order to protect the country. The Military history of Estonia covers a period of almost 900 years starting with the ancient Estonian battles and campaigns and reaches to the modern military history with the establishment of the Republic of Estonia in 1918. Estonians have fought in nearly every major war of the 19th Century and 20th Century including the Second Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War as well as numerous UN peace keeping missions.
