The history of the Estonian Special Operations Forces dates back to 2005, when the Special Operations Task Group was being formed within the Military Intelligence Battalion. The new Special Operations Task Group operated with minimal staff and limited resources until 2008, when the military and political leadership decided to start a more intensive development of those capabilities.
The Special Operations Task Group operated within the Military Intelligence Battalion until the end of 2012, when the Government of the Republic approved an amendment which created the Estonian Special Operations Forces as a separate unit under the direct command of the Commander of the Defence Forces. In principle, the forming of the Special Operations Forces created a new command, a part of which was formed by the Special Operations Task Group (SOTG), which had previously existed within the Military Intelligence Battalion. This structural change was required primarily because, as an operational asset of the strategic command, special operations cannot be a part of another strategic asset (intelligence). On 1 August 2014 the Estonian name of the command was changed from ‘Kaitseväe erioperatsioonide üksus’ to ‘Kaitseväe erioperatsioonide väejuhatus’ while in English it remained the Estonian Special Operations Forces.