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President Ilves: NATO training will teach us collective defence
05.11.2012
The President, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, today inspected the course of the Steadfast Juncture NATO training at Ämari Airbase. The Head of State visited the control centres of NATO's computer based staff exercise, where approximately 300 officers and non-commissioned officers from Estonia and other member states of the alliance are working together to achieve a common goal.
The Estonian Head of State acknowledged the interoperability of NATO allies at the exercise where defending Estonia against an attack of an external enemy is practiced. Steadfast Juncture is the first NATO training over the last number of years that NATO operates on a territory of its ally to practice collective defence.
"Today, here in Ämari, we can see what NATO should do after the end of NATO's largest military operation, the mission in Afghanistan. The operations of the alliance will not end, the command staffs must remain active, and the monies and military capabilities, available after Afghanistan, must be invested into strengthening the relations between allies," told President Ilves.
"NATO is not at a crossroad. We have a clear objective: safekeeping the collective defence principles of the alliance and increasing NATO's visibility. This is exactly what Steadfast Juncture does," told the Estonian Head of State.
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