On Friday, December 13, the reservists of the Engineer Battalion (1st Infantry Brigade) returned to their duty stations to continue refreshment training as part of the flexible snap exercise (SNAPEX) Okas 24-2, announced on December 2.
“The flexible format really suited me. I had arranged things at home so that I might not be back for a while, but I’m very grateful that I was given this opportunity. I believe that this format could motivate reservists to continue attending training sessions,” said Private Markus Annilo, a reservist with the Engineer Battalion. “I will take only positive emotions from this exercise. It was especially nice to old friends and to get an exciting change from civilian life.”
Based on the proposal of the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, the reservists of the Engineer Battalion (1st Infantry Brigade) were ordered to a flexible snap exercise from December 3 to 15. Additionally, the reservists of the Short-Range Air Defence Battery (Estonian Division) were ordered to participate the SNAPEX from December 3 to 8, and the troops were already released from duty on the morning of December 8.
Reserve troops of the Engineer Battalion were involved in the form of a flexible snap exercise, and thus were temporarily released from duty on December 7 with the order of remaining in high readiness to return to service when ordered. Troops were tasked to return to duty as of December 13, after which they received additional training on tactics, experience from Ukraine and on other topics, as well celebrated the anniversary of the Engineer Battalion.
The purpose of the snap exercise Okas 24-2 is to test combat readiness by assessing the functioning of the national defense command chain, from the government’s decision-making to the assembly of rapid response reservists. Additionally, reservists and active-duty personnel from the Engineer Battalion (1st Infantry Brigade) practice achieving combat readiness in accordance with their unit’s combat readiness plan, and fulfil their primary combat tasks during Exercise Pikne. The reservists called up at this snap exercise will also participate in the multinational exercise Pikne led by the Estonian Division.
