Pine tree “Two shots and a magazine change. Came free! ” belongs to the command. We are at the Männiku shooting range near Tallinn.
After the first careful shot, the bang begins to belong to the left and the right. Vice Rector of Tallinn Finnish School Task Minna Rytylä Retains breathing and presses the trigger.
The R -20 Rahi assault rifle made in the United States on requesting the Estonian Defense Forces and the bullet shoots.
Rytylä, 59, is a burning desire for the Estonian National Guard.
– I’m already a generation that I couldn’t get to the army as a woman. It was the spark that now is my chances and my turn.
Preparation for war
However, the actual stimulus was the Russian offensive war. Ukrainian refugees moved to Rytylä, who was in Estonia four years ago, moved to Estonia.
– The war seems quite real that it can come at any time of sudden. I thought I’d be ready and could do what I could, says Minna Rytylä.
National Guard activities are quite a counterweight to civilian work. At Task, Rytylä teaches small sub -classes and as a subject teacher music and exercise.
In many ways, the Estonian National Guard is similar to the National Guard Organization, which was closed in Finland in 1944. It is a voluntary, militarily organized national defense organization with 18,000 members.
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National patterns are regularly conducted in shooting and combat exercises. Field suits and equipment are kept at home. Some also store assault rifle at home, although the safety requirements related to it are strict.
In the event of a war, the units of the National Guard are used as part of the Estonian Defense Forces. So it’s not just a nice hobby, but patrons are practicing for real action.
Minna Rytylä is the only woman among Finns in the Tallinn District of the Tallinn District. The exact number of Finns is not multiplied, but there are “about a group” in the marine department. The group usually includes 5-10 soldiers.
“Finns are exceptional”
The task of the Rytylä ward during the war is to protect ports and harbor pools and staff.
He has no rosy imaginations of war or the possibility of death.
– Of course it is thinking about it, but I don’t give such fear power. Death comes to all of us somewhere. If it comes here, it is to come, Rytylä says.
Finns are exceptional, says Lieutenant, leader of the team practicing the team practicing the team. Rene Kalberg.
Foreign citizens cannot be members of the Estonian National Guard, so they are involved as support members.
– Usually, support members only make donations. However, Finns also participate in training activities and are a very fine and motivated group, Kalberg praises.
The operating environment of units specializing in the protection of objects is urban. So you don’t have to tent more in the terrain.
“We emphasize shooting and urban battle skills,” says Lieutenant Kalberg.
Benefit for conscript service in the past years
The Finnish unit is based on a group of friends. A rather central role is Jukka Tenhunen Owned by a bar by the main railway station next to Balti Jaama.
From there, the word about the possibility of joining the National Guard has slowly spread to the Finns. The owner himself is involved.
-It was said that we needed good men and here we are, 59-year-old Tenhunen says during a break in the shooting exercise.
– And this is a good hobby. It is good to maintain fitness and also get a shooting exercise.
Tenhunen, who once performed his military service in the Uusimaa Iceberg Battalion, regards Finnish military training as an advantage in patrol activities.
– It’s been a remarkably long time, but things are slowly reminiscent of. We know some of these basic stuff.
If the commandment goes on, then let’s go
In the sunny spring weather, the horrors of the war are far away. However, all Finns seem to be fully aware of how serious the task has been committed.
– Yeah, we’re ready. It’s our motto and this is our second country. We are ready to do what to do, says Jukka Tenhunen.
Also for thirty years living in Tallinn Jere Finnish convinces that he defends Estonia in the event of war.
– Finland joined NATO. It doesn’t matter much of which side of the border it is, says Finns.