AIVAR KROONMÄE
The actual counteraction should last longer in these trainings and it could already start before departing from the district.
public transport tickets at peak times may also be problematic). In case of ART, the actual transport costs to the rally points are often borne by the reservists themselves. But how to solve the problem of the temporarily empty wallet of a reservist? We may argue that everyone should have a sufficient reserve, however, the studies indicate that at least one third of the persons do not have any money reserves, which means that they live from one payday to another. Luckily, the members of the Defence League stick together and the problem can be solved when you have a companion to help you out. However, both of you should have a bank account in the same bank because otherwise it could take too much time for money to move between the banks. There is also a possibility that someone else is coming from the same area and offers a lift to their companion. This gives some coordination work for the management who sees the larger picture of the locations of the district members and can help to find the people who can come to the training together, transfer some money from one’s personal account if necessary, etc. Some employers requested for a preliminary confirmation on the fact that this training takes place, so the respective confirmation was sent to
Such trainings are necessary in order to keep the engine in full working order. them. We also asked the members of our combat unit to timely inform their employers about the possibility of such snap training. Some arrived later but thanks to good cooperation, we had an exact overview at what time everybody was to arrive. Thanks to the Women's Voluntary Defence Organisation we have the possibility of child care, which was offered to many members. We could sense surprise over this fact even over the telephone. Unfortunately, we could not offer child care facilities for a few days old infant and an 11-month baby but the presence of these fine mothers was not requested this time anyway. We also do not have a capability to care for an elderly person with very special needs and in agreement with the person coming to the training, we thus granted this person a possibility to go home on Sunday evening. There is a different issue with sick people. The law does not directly exempt people on sick leave from the training because there is a reference in the law that only the medical ser-
vice of the Defence Force is entitled to do so. Here the headquarter of the EDL agreed that those on sick leave and with an illness that does not allow them to make an appearance, do not have to come to the training. These cases were handled individually and in this way only the people on sick leave whose health was not compromised came to the training. They were then attended by the doctor of the Defence Force. Only one of them was sent to the exercise with an exemption to carry the back bag. In hindsight, the doctor’s reception room should have been separated from the other hustle. This is a lesson to be learnt. I will not discuss the reasons here, everyone will probably understand. The largest problem was the duration of the training. The possibility that the fighters will not make it to the work on Monday caused tensions in both the fighters as well as in their employers. Yes, many people also work on weekends. For a small company the closing down of the shop or a production stoppage or a failure of a person to make an appearance to his job as a school bus driver may mean a decline in turnover, loss of customers, contractual penalties and loss of profit (the sums may be in thousands of euros). These were the everyday issues we had to deal with. The law provides an obligation to arrive to the training and participate in it but it does not, for instance, give the Commander of the District a possibility to deliberate whether it would be wise to exempt someone from the training due to an excessively high risk of loss or contractual penalties to the company. Even for 10 hours, for instance. Here the law should be more flexible as regards to the members of the Defence League district. Making an appearance to the training under such circumstances may seem as a punishment and may reduce the future contribution of the otherwise active member to the Defence League. Everybody understands that if there is a necessity, people will come, and will come quickly and be there holding a gun as
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