The report, issued by the Riigikogu National Defense Committee and headed by Reform MP Meelis Kiili, said key functions necessary for leadership, such as the personnel function and combat service support, have been taken away from the EDF commander, while the establishment of the Defense Investment Center (RKIK) and expansion of the Defense Resources Agency (KRA) were criticized as contributing to this.

Former EDF commanders Gen. Riho Terras and Gen. Martin Herem came in for criticism in the report, leaked by Delfi ahead of publication Thursday.

The latter said while he has familiarized himself with the report, none of its authors consulted him on anything while compiling it, and in fact it was not needed in the first place.

"In my opinion, such an analysis is not needed," Herem, EDF commander at the time Russia invaded Ukraine, told Vikerraadio show "Uudis+."

"In my view, mine and Terras' and the report authors' understandings of national defense and the functioning of national defense; of the functioning of the state and the field of combat personnel, are all very different. When they criticize decisions made, then in my opinion they don't have a similar understanding, and that is where the main conflict arises," the former EDF chief said.

The report, among other claims, found that Herem, EDF commander 2018-2024, and his predecessor, Terras, now an Isamaa MEP, had not grasped EDF personnel functioning as it would be on a wartime footing, hence passing those aspects off to the KRA.

Both commanders were fortunate that no war in Estonia broke out during their tenures, as without these functions, EDF would not be able to function effectively in a conflict scenario, the report found.

On this, Herem found that the criticisms presented in the report are vague and do not even specify what kind of decision-making authority has been taken away from the EDF commander, in whatever area. He did concede that some functions had been outsourced from the EDF, however.

"I claim that no decision-making authority has been removed, but some operations and tasks have indeed been placed outside the Defense Forces /.../ Defense personnel should focus on military national defense. This has been a long-standing debate, but for some reason the people who authored the report have never wanted to hear or understand these details," Herem went on.

The KRA was established separately so that a battalion or brigade commander would not have to deal with such minutiae as purchasing lightbulbs, mowing grass, or other such matters not directly related to combat operations or their preparation, Herem added.

Herem denied decision-making authority in personnel matters had moved outside the EDF's remit, only that the report's authors had not grasped that.

Herem also rejected the claim made in the report that such decisions had fragmented the chain of command in the defense sector, even as reform is still needed.

"And many things do still need to be improved in these reforms, though this is challenging to do, and it is constantly criticized from the outside, so some kind of intrigue gets created," he said.

The former EDF chief said the reason he was likely not approached during the drafting of the report was that it is not a state task, but rather a personal initiative from some individuals. "Who, according to their own words, wanted to make our national defense better — maybe there are some other motivations behind it. My name is mentioned in it (the report) 16 times, I have only stood out there for negative decisions, and among other things, I have also angered God himself," he added.

This was a reference to one passage which jumped out at him, where it was stated that abolishing a peacetime chaplaincy service in the EDF was not just a mistake, but "an act not pleasing to God."

Herem declined to name names, however, noting that at the end of the day, such decisions are for the politicians themselves to make. "I don't know how political this document itself is," he added.

He also rejected criticism that former EDF or defense ministry leaders should not go on to defense industry jobs in the private sector, since there is no stated ban on doing this. "If they want to do that, then they should do it, not talk about it and crucify specific individuals," he added.

Soon after stepping down as EDF commander last year, Herem took on roles with defense industry companies Frankenburg Technologies and Milrem Robotics. He was also part of a team which campaigned for former Liverpool F.C. defender Ragnar Klavan to be elected president of the Estonian Football Association (EJL).

Terras: I was opposed to creating the RKIK as a separate agency

In a written comment issued later on Monday, Terras stated it had been highly irresponsible of the report's authors to speculate about what would have happened if a war had begun when either he or Herem were EDF commanders.

"All the EDF commanders during their tenure, as well as members of the government and the National Defense Committee, have worked throughout their terms to ensure that war would never again reach Estonian soil," he said.

As to the claim that Terras did not understand the importance of combat service support functions during wartime tasks, and that he agreed to the creation of the RKIK as a separate agency, Terras responded that he was actually opposed to this action.

"The fact that I was opposed to creating the RKIK as a separate agency is in the record. I did not agree to transferring state procurement to a separate agency, but the decision was made by the defence minister," Terras went on.

Terras said that when he took over as EDF chief in 2011, there was only one unit that was fully armed, equipped, supplied, and trained – and that was the EDF orchestra, in response to a claim that he had not focused on increasing military combat capability or institutional strength while in office.

"In order to arm, train, and equip additional units and ensure they had supplies, we decided to focus on building one unit at a time. Let me remind you that the EDF's resources were very limited compared with today. It was a joint decision by the defense minister and the EDF that we did not need a paper army, but real, ready, and battle-capable units. We didn't abolish anything – we simply began building up units for real within the constraints of existing resources," Terras added.

Many of the authors of the Riigikogu report were also involved in decision-making at the time, yet did not voice any criticism then, Terras added.

In addition to Kiili as coordinator, the Riigikogu National Defense Committee report's working party was made up of MPs Leo Kunnas (Independent), Alar Laneman (Reform), Neeme Väli (Isamaa), Peeter Tali (Eesti 200), and Anti Poolamets (EKRE).

Editor's note: This piece was updated to include comment from Riho Terras.

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