The Scouts Battalion () is a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of the

Estonian Land Forces The Estonian Land Forces (), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. The Estonian Land Forces is currently the ...

. It is a part of the 1st Infantry Brigade and acts as its rapid response unit. The battalion is currently based at

Tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...

History

Estonian War of Independence

In November 1918, Estonian American entrepreneur and

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

enthusiast Henry Reissar returned to Estonia and turned to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(then Ministry of War) with a proposition of forming a voluntary military unit, financed by himself, in order to help defend Estonia. Having received such permission, the unit was formed on 21 December 1918 in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

, where the first volunteers took their oaths in the ruins of

Viljandi Castle Viljandi Castle (, ) is 13th Century castle in a Viljandi, Estonia. It was built by the Livonian Order, and construction started in 1224 in place of a former hillfort, which was one of the strongest castles in Livonia. Finally destroyed in t ...

, and Friedrich-Karl Pinka was appointed commander of the newly formed unit. On 3 January 1919, the company-sized unit was sent to the front against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. On 23 January 1919, a 43-man unit of Scouts captured the Pikksaare Train Station, defended by 524 Red Army troops. The Scouts fought mostly alongside

armoured train An armoured train (Commonwealth English) or armored train (American English) is a railway train protected with heavy metal plating and which often includes railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns, and autocannons. Some have also h ...

units and acquitted themselves well in combat, manifesting greater morale than the regular conscript units. The Scouts took part in several major battles including the attack against the

Krasnaya Gorka fort Krasnaya Gorka (; meaning "Red Hill") is a coastal artillery fortress in Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, opposite Kotlin Island and the Baltic Fleet's base at Kronstadt. ...

in October 1919 and the

Battle of Krivasoo Battle of Krivasoo (; 18 November 1919 - 30 December 1919) took place near the Krivasoo, Estonia during the Estonian War of Independence between the Estonian Army and the Red Army. It is considered one of the last engagements of the conflict be ...

in November – December 1919. On 1 December 1919, the Scouts Regiment (''Scoutspolk'') was formed as a part of the Armoured Train Division.

1920–1940

After the signing of the Peace Treaty of Tartu, many servicemen were demobilized and returned to civilian life. From 1921-28, the Scouts unit was reduced in size and continued to serve as a part of the 2nd, 5th, 6th and 10th Infantry Regiment. On 1 October 1928, the unit was renamed Scouts Single Infantry Battalion. The battalion was based at

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, from where it was moved to Uuemõisa in 1932. After the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

in 1940, the battalion was disbanded.

2001–present

The Scouts Battalion was restored on 29 March 2001, as a fully professional unit. The Scouts Battalion has actively participated in international operations together with other

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

member states, including the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. The battalion is currently equipped with

Combat Vehicle 90 The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) (, strf 90 or Stridsfordon 90) is a family of Swedish tracked armoured combat vehicles designed by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), Hägglund & Söner and Bofors during the mid-1980s to early ...

infantry fighting vehicles and

Patria Pasi The Patria Pasi (earlier known as the Sisu Pasi) is a Finnish-made six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC) originally designed for Finnish Defence Forces. The first variant was produced in 1983, and serial production began in 1984. It was d ...

armoured personnel carriers.

Current structure

Scouts Battalion: * Battalion Headquarters ** A Infantry Company ** B Infantry Company ** C Infantry Company ** Combat Support Company ** Staff and Support Company

List of commanders

* Artur Tiganik 2001–2004 * Indrek Sirel 2005–2006 * Aivar Kokka 2006–2009 * Vahur Karus 2009–2013 * Andrus Merilo 2013–2016 *Tarmo Kundla 2016–2019 *Eero Aija 2019-2022 *Ranno Raudsik 2022-

References

External links

Official website
{{Battalions of Estonia Military history of Estonia Estonian War of Independence Battalions of Estonia Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in Estonia