The Headquarters Support and Signal Battalion ( et, Staabi- ja sidepataljon) is a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

sized signal unit of the

Estonian Land Forces The Estonian Land Forces ( et, Maavägi), 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. It is currently the largest ...

. It is a part of the

Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integra ...

and its primary task is to ensure communication between the different units of the

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Esto ...

Estonian Defence League The Estonian Defence League ( et, Eesti Kaitseliit) is the name of the unified paramilitary armed forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Defence League is a paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, ...

and to train reserve signal officers. The battalion must also ensure the strategic signalling and information technology support for the Defence Forces and realise development projects in the area of defence, information technology and electronic warfare. The battalion is currently based at

Ämari Air Base Ämari Air Base is a military airbase in Harjumaa, Estonia located south of Lake Klooga and southwest of Tallinn. History Ämari Air Base was built between 1940–1952 under an agreement signed by the Estonian SSR and the Soviet Union. In 19 ...

and is commanded by

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Priit Averkin.

History

The predecessor of the battalion was established on 21st November 1918 at the beginning of the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westwa ...

. Even though the unit changed its name multiple times during the conflict, it still maintained its original mission to ensure communications between headquarters and fronts. After the war in 1924, various radio and telegraph units were merged into a battalion sized unit, the Signal Battalion ( et, Sidepataljon). By 1940, the battalion had become a modern signal corps with proper equipment and training.

Battle of Raua Street

When the Soviet Union occupied Estonia in June 1940, the Signal Battalion was ordered to relocate from its garrison to a building of a local

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

high school and surrender its weaponry. When the communists also came for the signallers' personal items, they were kicked out of the building. By the time they came back with

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

soldiers, the signallers had already armed themselves and a shootout broke out between the opposing sides. The building was attacked by 6 armoured cars and heavy machine guns. By the end of the battle, the Estonians had suffered 1 killed and 3 wounded and the Red Army had suffered at least 10 dead. It was the only armed act of resistance from the

against the occupying Soviets. After these events, the Signal Battalion was merged into the Red Army's

22nd Rifle Corps The 22nd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, formed thrice. It was initially formed from the Estonian Army after the Soviet occupation of that country in June 1940. The corps was destroyed during the Baltic Operation. After large-scale de ...

which was destroyed during the Baltic Operation in 1941.

1993-present

On 29th October 1993, the battalion was re-established as the Single Signal Battalion ( et, Üksik-sidepataljon) and the unit returned to its old garrison in

Ülemiste Ülemiste is a subdistrict ( et, asum) in the district of Lasnamäe, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 1,444 (). Estonian largest airport Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport is located in Ülemiste. Ülemiste is the location of ...

, Tallinn which they had to leave from in 1940. In 2011, the battalion adopted its current name. In 2021, the battalion relocated to

Current structure

Headquarters Support and Signal Battalion: * Battalion Headquarters ** Signal School ** HQ Company ** Signal Company ** HQ Defence Service

References

External links