Next year, the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) will make changes to its training programs in preparation for an updated conscription model. These unavoidable adjustments, aimed at strengthening defense readiness, stem from the need to develop and sustain new military capabilities.

These new capabilities are being created with the support of increased defense investments, intended to make any aggression against Estonia unfeasible and, in the worst case, to ensure we are prepared to win a war. At the heart of all this is the soldier who must understand their tasks both linguistically and conceptually.

This means higher standards and additional or revised training, both for professional service members who have sworn an oath of loyalty and for conscripts. Conscription marks the beginning of reserve service. During conscription, Estonian soldiers learn to perform their wartime duties individually and as a team. The EDF has gained much from its experiences in foreign operations, but even more from the high-intensity war unfolding in Europe in recent years, unleashed by the Vladimir Putin regime.

For future conscripts, the implementation of the EDF's training evaluation system means their basic soldier course will be shorter and even more intense. Specialty and unit courses will become more diverse and roughly half of the conscription period will involve practical training in units providing combat readiness.

During conscription, the EDF expects soldiers to acquire a broad range of complex knowledge and skills. This doesn't mean immediately exceeding human limits, but it often requires more effort than most have exerted during their prior education.

We've already identified that even conscripts entering the current, less intensive model than the one planned for the future often face challenges, leading to some having their service start postponed.

The main issue is the poor health and weak physical condition of many young Estonian men. It also frequently becomes clear at the beginning of conscription that, in addition to physical training, the EDF must also help some conscripts close gaps in their Estonian language proficiency.

When it comes to physical readiness and, for example, marksmanship requirements, the standards are the same for professional soldiers in the Scouts Battalion or Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion as they are for conscripts assigned to similar tasks. However, under current law, it is assumed that a conscript can learn to handle weapons safely and effectively without understanding the instructions or commands.

In practice, of course, instructors do not allow non-Estonian-speaking soldiers to endanger themselves or others. Alongside the mandatory military training the conscript is there to receive, the EDF must also teach them the minimum level of language needed for service. As a result, society gains a better-integrated citizen through improved language skills, but overall defense capability is weakened because language instruction consumes time not only for the learner but also for their fellow soldiers who must repeat instructions until even the least perceptive understand. In a strong team, every link must be strong.

In the EDF, all soldiers are equal and one's home language is not grounds for preferential treatment or exclusion. But upbringing at home can often be helpful. For example, thanks are due to [Center Party politician] Jana Toom, whose son, Artur Toom, was a motivated conscript, performed well in training, was selected for the combat medic specialty course and rose to the rank of junior sergeant. This example shows that it is indeed possible to learn the national language in Estonia with the support of schools and families.

In reality, fully non-Estonian-speaking citizens reaching conscription is quite rare. Each year, the EDF has had to provide remedial language instruction to about 10 percent of conscripts. Sometimes even completing the EDF's language course is not enough — state resources and a young person's time are spent, but a trained soldier still doesn't result. In such cases, the training, and with it the achievement of military readiness, suffers for everyone.

So when amendments to the Military Service Act come into force, requiring conscripts to have at least B1-level Estonian language skills, what happens to those who do not meet this standard?

Their obligation to national defense does not disappear. However, their opportunity to receive training in the EDF is postponed until they acquire the required language proficiency. In the meantime, they miss out on the skills and knowledge needed to defend Estonia. They also miss out on life skills — teamwork, leadership, wilderness survival and social capital — that would have developed through bonds with fellow soldiers.

As a result, they miss the positive benefits associated with conscription, which, according to studies, lead to higher average future income compared to peers who did not serve.

But we do not have the right to force people to attend language classes in the military. Despite how it sounds, ajateenistus (conscription) does not mean "serving time" — it means serving the Republic of Estonia by learning to defend one's country through intense and purposeful training.

It is true that universal conscription has a positive impact on social cohesion. Therefore, a public discussion about citizens' language proficiency is entirely appropriate. National defense, however, cannot serve as a substitute for addressing other pressing social issues.

The Soviet occupation army also taught Russian to those forced into service and sent soldiers to help with potato harvests when needed. Comparing the Estonian Defense Forces to that, as some Russian propaganda channels mockingly do, is completely inappropriate.

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