On January 15, 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Estonia announced the appointment of Major General Veiko-Vello Palm to the post of commander of the newly formed division of the Estonian Defense Forces. Major General Palm has been Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces since June 2021, and before that he was Chief of the General Staff of the Defense Forces in 2018-2021.
Estonian Army soldiers with the new Swedish Saab Carl-Gustaf M4 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher (c) Ministry of Defense of EstoniaThe decision to form a divisional directorate in the Estonian armed forces was made by the Estonian Government on December 8, 2022.
The division should be a multinational military unit and unite the main forces of the Estonian ground forces, as well as the contingents of the ground forces of NATO member countries stationed in Estonia. From the Estonian army, the division will include both infantry brigades (1st and 2nd), as well as a logistics battalion and a staff and communications battalion. The division's directorate is stationed in Tallinn with a peacetime staff strength of 100 people.
The division will be directly subordinate to the Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, and, if necessary, can be transferred to the NATO chain of command.
"The creation of the division will lead to one of the biggest changes that have occurred in the Defense Forces since their restoration," said Major General Veiko-Vello Palm, appointed the first commander of the division. - "The division allows us to unite both our brigades and ground defense, as well as allied units contributing to our defense, into a single shock fist. This makes it possible to make the whole country safer so that our country can continue to function even in crisis conditions."
Appointed the first commander of the formed division of the Estonian Army, Major General Veiko-Vello Palm (c) Ministry of Defense of Estonia
