Guard Battalion (Estonia)

Guard Battalion
Vahipataljon
Insignia of the Guard Battalion
Active	January 9, 1919 – June 17, 1940 January 22, 1993 – present
Country	Estonia
Branch	Military Police
Type	Honor Guard
Role	Ceremonial guard
Size	Battalion
Part of	Military Police
Garrison/HQ	Paldiski, Tallinna mnt 7
Nickname(s)	Presidendi Kaardivägi (Presidential Guard)
Motto(s)	Eesti kodu kaitseks (For the protection of the Estonian home)
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant colonel Artur Meerits[1]
Notable commanders	Riho Terras
Insignia
Flag

The Military Police Guard Battalion (Estonian: Sõjaväepolitsei Vahipataljon), or simply Guard Battalion is specialized unit under the Military Police of the Estonian Defence Forces, which conducts ceremonial duties and prepares military police units.^[2] It is based in Paldiski and specialized in urban warfare.

Being the capital's largest military formation, the Guard Battalion also has the duty of carrying the guard of honour at presidential palace and welcoming foreign diplomats and political guests.

The Guard Battalion was first created on 9 January 1919 from a battalion of the Estonian Defense League. It served as an auxiliary law enforcement unit in Tallinn that doubled as a ceremonial unit used at funerals and reception ceremonies for foreign guests. On 25 February, it was officially renamed to the Guard Battalion. On 1 June of the following year it was renamed to the Tallinn Single Guard Battalion. On 20 May 1939, by order of President Konstantin Päts, 11 January 1928 was declared to be the birthday of the unit. On 1 July 1930, the Tallinn Garrison Command and Guard Battalion were formed as an independent institution. On 19 April 1940, the battalion was approved a unit flag donated by the Bank of Estonia. After the Soviet invasion of Estonia, the unit was moved out of its barracks and phased into the 21st Rifle Regiment.^[3]

The modern Guard Battalion was reestablished on 22 January 1993 on the basis of the formerly Internal Defense Guard Regiment, which was previously engaged in incarceration services. In the beginning the honuor company performed their ceremonial duties in tactical uniform, with the addition of a white belt and white gloves.

Three different uniforms which represented all military forces (Land force, Air force, Navy) were introduced in 1998 and they were firstly used during the visit of the Slovenian president.^[4]

On 1 May 2003, a battalion known as the Single Guard was renamed the Infantry Training Center before being changed at the outset of 2009 to the Guard Battalion. Since 2014, it has been subordinated to the Sõjaväepolitsei, being part of the Northern Defense District until then. In March 2015, it moved to the Estonian Navy's Mine Harbor base, until sometime in early 2022 when the battalion was moved to Paldiski.

To reduce administrative burden and focus more on the development of training and combat readiness, Air Force and Navy uniforms were removed. Since 2021 the Guard Battalion uses only Land Force ceremonial uniform during ceremonies and in the honuor guard.^[5]

The Battalion consists of 3 primary companies with them being the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Military Police Companies.

1st and 2nd Military Police companies primarily focus on being a reserve Military Police unit, followed by the 3rd Military Police Company which focuses more on Mechanized Infantry tactics.^[3]

• Colonel Oskar Raudvere (1919–1934)
• Lieutenant Colonel Jaan Junkur (1934–1939)
• Lieutenant Colonel Juhan Tuuling (1939–1940)
• Major Jaan Ilm (1992–1994)
• Lieutenant Colonel Manivald Kasepõld (1994–1995)
• Lieutenant Colonel Vahur Väljamäe (1995–1997)
• Lieutenant Sander Kesküla (1997–1998)
• Lieutenant Colonel Riho Terras (1998–2000)
• Captain Madis Uibopuu (2000–2002)
• Major Rene Brus (2002–2007)
• Major Rasmus Lippur (2007–2009)
• Major Toomas Väli (2009–2011)
• Lieutenant Colonel Kalle Teras (2011–2013)
• Lieutenant Colonel Kaido Sirman (2013–2015)
• Major Martin Kukk (2015–2018)
• Major Romet Kaevu (acting) (2018–2019)
• Lieutenant Colonel Margot Künnapuu (2019–2024)
• Lieutenant Colonel Artur Meerits (2024–present)

• Headquarters^[6]
  • 1. Military Police Company
  • 2. Military Police Company
  • Staff and Support Center

Almost 300 conscripts are serving in the battalion every year.^[7] It is the only unit with conscripts in a military police role in the Estonian Defense Forces.

In 2015, the battalion was moved from its old base to the base of the Estonian Navy.^[3] The old premises in suburbs of Tallinn was sold together with the old barracks of Logistics Battalion. Since then, the Guard Battalion has been in excellent living conditions for conscripts in renovated historical barracks. However, the unit has a lack of training facilities because it is far away from shooting ranges and training grounds.

Conscripts of the Estonian Navy live in the same barracks.^{[citation needed]}

• Uku Suviste, representative of Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
• Risto Lumi, a former commander of the Intelligence Department of the Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces.
• Denis Metsavas, Russian-Estonian soldier and GRU agent convicted of treason.^[8][9]

• Estonian Defence Forces
• Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces
• Kaitseväe Orkester
• Military Police
• Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion
• Latvian National Armed Forces Staff Battalion

• "Uudised – Kaitsevägi". Mil.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 7 February 2019.