The aim of the center is to ensure all healthcare workers have a broad knowledge of national defense medical needs, as well as to train future specialists for the EDF during both peacetime and wartime. In addition to training, the center provides a large amount of healthcare services to EDF personnel in southern Estonia.

According to Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform), the new center is a prime example of infrastructure that elevates training quality.

"The drone training center opened this spring in Nurmsi shows how much modern infrastructure can enhance both our own and our allies' training. The Estonian Military Academy also recently gained a strong upgrade with a new building at Raadi. But in addition to combat training, we equally need to develop supporting capabilities. That's why the completion of this war and disaster medicine center is a crucial milestone in military medical training. So is the new health center located in the same building, which helps ensure a health-supporting environment for our soldiers," Pevkur said.

Previously, training in war and disaster medicine took place in a container village at Raadi, medical consultations were held in cramped main building rooms, rehabilitation was conducted at Seli Manor and pharmacy storage was located in facilitie that had badly deteriorated.

The construction of the new center cost €16 million.

"We're happy to say that the war and disaster medicine center, now featuring the largest simulation hall in the Baltics, is finally completed and brings all related training under one roof," said Peeter Karja, the Estonian Center for Defense Investment's southern portfolio manager, at the opening.

The new center includes a significantly larger health center with expanded capabilities, offering services from general practitioners and specialists. Additional facilities include stress testing, physiotherapy and other support services. The goal is to provide modern, needs-based, and comprehensive healthcare for EDF personnel. The building can also accommodate 36 patients undergoing rehabilitation.

The new four-story, 8,000-square-meter Raadi training building will also house a large auditorium essential for the Estonian Military Academy and the Baltic Defense College, a campus catering complex, and the largest simulation hall in the Baltics, equipped to use smoke, sound, water and lighting effects to create realistic training environments.

The head of the war and disaster medicine center, Dr. Neve Vendt, said the facility has been long awaited.

"We have carefully reviewed every line of the blueprint, every wall, color, and piece of furniture to ensure suitability and functionality for training students, conscripts, Defense Forces personnel, and for conducting larger-scale exercises in cooperation with the civilian healthcare sector," Vendt said.

The war and disaster medicine course is a mandatory subject for both nursing and medical students, and is offered as an elective to emergency medical technicians and other healthcare students. The broader goal is to provide all healthcare professionals with national defense-related medical knowledge, and to develop future military medical specialists for both peacetime and wartime. The center expects to train about 3,000 students annually.

According to Tartu Mayor Urmas Klaas (Reform), Tartu is the ideal location for this center.

"This is the heart of Estonian medical education, home to the only teaching hospital—the University of Tartu Clinic—and also where Estonian military education is concentrated. All of this creates an excellent foundation for close and meaningful cooperation," said Klaas.

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