Local govts want 2nd Infantry Brigade headquarters to be located in Voru County

TALLINN - The Voru County Development Center in a letter sent to Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik has proposed that, with the relocation of state agencies to outside large centers, the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the defense forces, currently located in Tartu County, could be relocated to Voru County.

In relocating institutions, the local governments of Voru County propose to be guided by the principle that the institution to be relocated to the region should support regional specialization or growth areas and encourage the continued development of competencies unique to the region. In this case, the relocation of institutions has the potential to gain a much greater impact in terms of regional development than the additional jobs and residents that are to emerge in the region narrowly, it is said in the letter sent to the defense minister.

The local governments propose to relocate the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Brigade to Voru County, which, according to rural municipality leaders, would be fully justified and reasonable as units of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, that is the Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion and the Combat Service Support Battalion, are already stationed at the Taara military base in Voru. At the same time, the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Brigade are currently located in Luunja, Tartu County.

"The relocation of the headquarters to Voru County will support regional specialization. At present, several employees of the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Brigade go to work from Voru to Luunja or have been born and studied in Voru County. The close proximity of the training ground also works in favor of the location of the headquarters in Voru County," it is said in the letter.

The residents of Voru County are already highly involved in national defense, an indication of which is the high number of members of the Kaitseliit (Defense League) volunteer corps. Namely, they make up 4.3 percent of the county's population, while the national average is two percent. However, the number of Young Eagles and Home Daughters members in the Voru County district is 870, which is a good platform for finding young talent for national defense jobs.

According to local governments, the relocation of state agencies to Voru County has significant advantages for the authorities and their employees. On the one hand, the administrative costs of the office can be saved in Voru County -- office rent and other administrative costs in Voru County are significantly lower than in Tallinn. On the other hand, Voru County is valued as a quality living environment -- the area is safe, the housing market is favorable, schools and kindergartens are organized and there are no queues for them, the area is peaceful, close to nature and the community is supportive.