Estonian army: he who laughs last
More recently, in November, the Estonian army boasted of its invincibility. At the same time, Estonians mocked the Latvian armed forces, supposedly only suitable for “protecting the sacks of flour in the rear”. The Latvian army was called “empty space” in these Bakhvali reports.In the article Mikka Salou ("Postimees") of the army of two neighboring republics were compared in numbers. If in Estonia today 5000-6000 military personnel are in service, and in wartime 30-40 thousand can stand up, in Latvia 1,7 thousand and 12 thousand respectively. The Estonian defense budget of 2009-2010 is EUR 565 million euros, and Latvians have only 370 million euros. And if valiant Estonians, in case of anything, start to fight with machine guns, machine guns, mortars, artillery, air defense, anti-tank armament and sit on armored personnel carriers (maybe even go), then Latvian fighters will be able to walk, run or crawl with machine guns and machine guns. Some lucky men will get rare mortars.
In this situation, the Estonians were seriously worried that in the event of an attack on a tyrant aggressor like Lukashenko, they themselves would have to defend their southern border: the Latvian army, that is, “empty space”, would not help them.
Estonians wrote in the same newspaper "Postimees":
“The defense forces of Estonia and Latvia, which started from one line twenty years ago, are now in a diametrically opposite position. Latvian Defense Forces are not ready to fight at all. They can neither defend their country nor cooperate internationally. Estonia’s southern border is defenseless. ”
Spitting into the Baltic neighbor and praising their valiant army, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the Estonians forgot to knock on a tree and spit three times over their left shoulder.
And so - please.
Suddenly, an economic crisis hit Estonia with such ferocity that it was almost decided to cancel the army. In connection with the sharp impoverishment of the country, it is planned to abandon the new helicopters, high-speed boats, the military camp in Yagala, abolish a number of headquarters and cover four defense districts. Now, of course, the Latvians will find something to answer to the brothers Estonians.
Writing an article about abrupt changes in the army of his native country fell to the same Mikk Salu. And where did the former euphoria go?
The program for the development of Estonian military defense for the next ten years, recently submitted to the parliamentary commission on state defense, provides for this and that, but first of all, with bitterness пишет journalist, it is about reductions and cuts. Needless to say, if it is planned to abolish the headquarters of the Ground Forces, the headquarters of the Navy and the headquarters of the Air Force. At the same time, the new program will cancel four defense districts. The Estonian army will be forced to refuse large supplies provided for in the previous program. The military will not receive either tanks, neither helicopters, nor medium-range air defense missile systems. The fleet will be left without speed boats. No one (even Russian Tajiks at half price) will not build a military camp in Yagal.
How to deal with the enemies in the face of Belarus and Russia? How, then, to face the Minister of Defense of Latvia, Artis Pabriks, who recently was able to adequately respond to the Estonian bahwals? Sleep well, brothers-Estonians - roughly in these words Artis Pabriks expressed confidence that the southern border of the Estonian state is safe.
And now how to deal with the enemies of Latvia, who can easily invade its territory through defenseless Estonia? What, you ask enemies? With the Finns, of course: after every St. Petersburg alcoholist they dream of attaching Estonia to themselves, so that later it would be more convenient to fight with the Russians. Well, other fierce northern enemies can manifest themselves, say, entrenched in Svalbard and are in secret collusion with the Greenland Eskimos.
As for comrade Lukashenko, he, with the blessing of another comrade Putin, now intends to go through the whole Baltic. The main thing is to stop in time. An old man in Vilnius will have breakfast, he will share lunch with a friend in Riga, and dinner will be given to the enemy in Tallinn.
As the hardworking journalist Mikk Salou found out, the rejection of the previous plans of the Ministry of Defense seemed “sharp” to the public because all previous plans were ... utopian.
“Until now, large-scale and utopian plans were being hatched, in no way supported. Behind these utopias was a void, which was covered up with loud words about state secrets, ”said an informed official.
The new program, officials, anonymous and deputies called "reasonable". They believe that it can even be done.
Behind the significant changes in the development of the defense forces, the journalist writes, two reasons are hidden. One of them is money. The second is money, too, a disgusting army leadership.
It turns out that in the 2009 year, the country of Estonia climbed to the very crest of an economic recovery. All the countries in the world have fallen, but she has risen. Not otherwise, it squeezed out like a bubble, from the total mass plunged to the bottom. Tax revenues grew annually by more than 10 percent. At the beginning of 2009, Minister of Defense Jaak Aaviksoo decided that 60 billions of crowns (3,8 billion euros) should be spent on military needs. Another Minister of Defense, Mart Laar, reported a year ago that there was a billion euros less money (2,8 billion). The current minister, Urmas Reinsalu, is trying to continue the line set by Laar.
While the Estonians were arguing about whether to make them an atomic bomb, and were other utopian projects, from the state budget was a massive distribution of funds - to anyone who asked.
“Everyone who wanted something, got something. Ground forces want something - it’s good enough; we’ll put it in the program for you. The Air Force also wants it - well, you will get it too. The Navy is scratching under the door - well, what could be there, you will also be caught. ”
In November, brisk Salou wrote: the misfortune of Latvia is that there is no military service there - only professional soldiers are there, but in Estonia there are conscripts, reservists, and professional military personnel. Journalist did not forget and boast about how good his native sun is:
"At the same time, Estonia is superior to Latvia in all respects, both quantitatively and qualitatively, we have more soldiers and they are better trained, we also have more equipment and it is more qualitative."
And what can these - pff - Latvian machine gunners?
“The Latvian armed forces are, in fact, lightly armed infantry, which means the presence of assault rifles, machine guns and mortars. In Latvia, there are almost no armored personnel carriers, anti-tank equipment, artillery and air defense ... Our warring soldiers move on armored personnel carriers, and the Latvians run on their own two. "
But if you get a grasp of fresh lines of the same author, already dedicated to the Estonian armed forces, immediately it would seem that he is talking about the same army:
“As a result, much and nothing has been done. Acquisition of medium-range missiles is planned, but at the exercises, half of the officers communicate with each other by mobile phones, since there are not enough communication systems.
There is talk of buying tanks, but it hardly comes about how, for example, in the event of war, to transfer the Viru infantry battalion to Sinimäe, everyone begins to scratch their heads, and do we have cars for its transportation, and even if there is, then where are they located and where would we get fuel, and will there be enough ammunition and ammunition for the third day of combat operations?
As a result, the Estonian armed forces are impressive on paper and in their structure resemble the army of some large state, but in fact we are talking about the mass of men possessing extremely light weapons. ”
There is talk of buying tanks, but it hardly comes about how, for example, in the event of war, to transfer the Viru infantry battalion to Sinimäe, everyone begins to scratch their heads, and do we have cars for its transportation, and even if there is, then where are they located and where would we get fuel, and will there be enough ammunition and ammunition for the third day of combat operations?
As a result, the Estonian armed forces are impressive on paper and in their structure resemble the army of some large state, but in fact we are talking about the mass of men possessing extremely light weapons. ”
Daggers and bows should be.
How quickly "more soldiers and they are better trained" dropped to "the mass of men"!
What about high-quality technology? But:
“The existing base of artillery is very insignificant, very few modern anti-tank forces, and short-range air defense forces against helicopters and low-flying airplanes are completely inadequate.
Moreover, there is not even a normal connection, transportation ... "
Moreover, there is not even a normal connection, transportation ... "
Etc.
“The realistic development program, at least in the eyes of its compilers, must consist precisely in the fact that before doing big things, first eliminate all those minor flaws and gaps (in their totality they form one giant gap) that now give themselves know".
Obviously, what Mikk Salu described is considered to be “minor flaws” in Estonia. In short, Estonians should rejoice if the Latvians in the event of an attack by Lukashenka’s troops or the advance of the Greenlanders take the most courageous residents of Tallinn to guard the carriages with flour.
In passing, Mr. Salu notes that there were also “completely radical ideas” - for example, “the liquidation of the Estonian naval forces”. Fortunately, they did not get into the development program.
Well, Moscow was not built right away ... Leading experts in the world economy promise to continue the financial crisis for at least ten years to come. It seems that the Baltic brothers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have the same fate: the complete abolition of not only the intermediate headquarters, but the armed forces in general.
As for the atomic bomb, it is doubtful that leaders of such eastern steepness as Kim Jong-un (male sex symbol of 2012 of the year, according to the magazine “Onion Bow”) and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (main patron of the peaceful atomic program in Iran and secret associate Kim Jong-un.
In order not to dishonor his officers, running around the fields of exercises with cell phones in search of horse-drawn transport, the President of Estonia recently announced a new program of the Ministry of Defense, cutting everything and everyone, “ambitious”.
10 December, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves met with Defense Minister Urmas Reinsalu and the Commander of the Defense Forces, Brigadier General Riho Terras, who gave him, the commander-in-chief, a new program written on 10 ahead. In the first year to reduce it, in the second year - to refuse from the fact in the third year ...
And that's what пишет about this our favorite newspaper "Postimees":
“The President expressed his gratitude to the officials of the Ministry of Defense and the officers of the General Staff for setting ambitious, but at the same time realistic, accurate, justified and feasible tasks.
“The conclusions and rationales presented by the Minister of Defense and the Commander of the Defense Forces were convincing. Estonia has a good state defense development program, linked to reality, ”Ilves said.”
“The conclusions and rationales presented by the Minister of Defense and the Commander of the Defense Forces were convincing. Estonia has a good state defense development program, linked to reality, ”Ilves said.”
The nearest event of the new "ambitious" program will be the withdrawal of troops from Tallinn. From the capital of the republic will withdrawn all military units. The place of their new deployment deputies while kept in secret. They are probably afraid of the Russian "Iskander" and the plans of Comrade Putin, who, they say, was tortured by nostalgia for the USSR.
However, it is easy to guess: probably Urmas Reinsalu and Artis Pabriks have already agreed on everything, and the Estonian soldiers secretly move to the south, closer to the border Latvian barns ...
Observed and commented on Oleg Chuvakin
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