Estonian military orders full inventory of equipment and supplies

The Estonian Defence Forces have ordered a full inventory of their assets and supplies, with all units to count their stock, ERR reported. The process is largely manual and will need to be digitised for faster, more accurate reporting, but the work will be costly and time-consuming.

During a visit to the Ämari military base on Tuesday, Defence Forces commander Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo said the military has 1,000 warehouses containing billions of items. Each sub-unit in a barracks has its own weapons store and equipment room, alongside warehouses for individual soldiers’ and unit equipment.

Stocktaking before and after exercises is mostly done by hand, with figures written down and signed. Merilo said items including uniforms and supplies could be tracked through a digital system using barcodes, as could the movement of goods between warehouses.

Members of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament, said after a half-day tour that they were confident unit commanders and senior non-commissioned officers had a clear picture of their stock. Committee chairman Peeter Tali said members had reviewed the Ämari facilities and spoken with personnel.

The cost and timing of digitising the inventory are not yet known. Merilo said improvements could be made, but he could not promise that every requirement would be met by the next National Audit Office review.