ESTONIA: LANNEOTS APPOINTED AS NEW CHOD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 001091 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2016 TAGS: EN MARR PGOV PINR PREL SUBJECT: ESTONIA: LANNEOTS APPOINTED AS NEW CHOD Classified By: DCM Jeff Goldstein for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Major General Ants Laaneots was confirmed as Estonia's new Chief of Defense Forces (CHOD) on December 5. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) hopes Laaneots's appointment will heal the rift between the MOD and Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), which existed under the previous CHOD. Laaneots' main priorities as CHOD include: solving the EDF's recruitment problem, addressing the EDF's operational resource strains, and improving the EDF's relations with the MOD. End Summary. New CHOD to heal divisions? -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On December 5 Parliament overwhelmingly approved President Toomas Hendrik Ilves's nominee, Laaneots, as CHOD with 77 MPs (out of 101) in support. Laaneots replaced Admiral Tarmo Kouts, who resigned as CHOD on November 14. When he resigned, Kouts announced his intention to run for Parliament in the March 2007 elections with the opposition party Res Publica-Pro Patria. Defense Minister Jurgen Ligi, Reform party member, and Kouts had a publicly hostile relationship, which was made worse by the timing and manner of Kouts's resignation. The bad relations between the two had a negative impact on the working relationship between the MOD and the EDF's General Staff, often erupting in embarrassing public recriminations. According to numerous sources in the MOD and EDF, the lack of information sharing and divergent priorities and objectives between the MOD and EDF has been destructive for morale in both agencies. In a joint press conference immediately after Laaneots confirmation in Parliament, Ligi introduced the new CHOD. In their remarks, both Ligi and Laaneots affirmed their commitment to improving relations between the EDF and MOD. ¶3. (C) In a conversation shortly after the press conference, MOD Permanent Undersecretary Lauri Almann shared with us his relief that Minister Ligi and Laaneots genuinely get on well with each other and seem to be on the same page on most issues. (Note: Their main difference is conscription, which Laaneots favors. Ligi supports an all volunteer army. However, Laaneots has not commented on his position publicly, even when repeatedly asked by the press. End Note.) As an early front runner to replace Kouts as CHOD, Major General Alar Laneman, Head of the General Staff, was disappointed that he was not selected. However, Almann was not concerned that Laaneots's appointment would be disruptive within the General Staff. Almann said that Laneman understands "there is only one captain of a ship" and will accept the new chain of command. Personal Background -------------- ¶4. (U) Laaneots was born in Kilingi-Nomme, Estonia on January 16, 1948. He graduated from Soviet Tank Forces School in Kharkov, Ukraine in 1970 and later the Malinovsky Academy of Tank Forces in Moscow in ¶1981. Before retiring a full Colonel from the Soviet Army in 1991, Laaneots served as a military advisor in Ethiopia, was posted to the Soviet-Chinese border in Kazakhstan, and led the recruitment and reserves office in Tartu. After re-independence, Laaneots was instrumental in recreating Estonia's General Staff, which he headed from 1991 to 1994. Laaneots was appointed EDF Chief Inspector in 1997, where he served for a year, before returning to head the General Staff once more from 1997 to 1999. Since 2001, Laaneots has been Chief of Estonia's Defense College. In 2002 Laaneots was also appointed as Estonia's Military Attache to Russia and Ukraine. ¶5. (C) Although Laaneots's served in the Soviet army for more than 20 years, he has been staunchly pro-U.S. and NATO. He was one of the principal architects behind the EDF's modernization in accordance with NATO principles. Laaneots has worked hard to divest himself of the old Soviet military thinking and mindset. He also received additional training through TALLINN 00001091 002 OF 002 the NATO Defense College in Rome (1998) and the Finnish National Defense College (2000). Priorities -------------- ¶6. (U) Since his confirmation, Laaneots has publicly outlined his general priorities as CHOD: addressing resource strains, falling recruitment, and improving relations between the EDF and MOD. On November 15, prior to his confirmation, Laaneots spoke privately with ODC Chief in more detail about the challenges he faces as CHOD. ¶7. (C) DEPLOYMENTS. In Laaneots's opinion, the EDF is stretched far too thin. Although deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Balkans are an integral part of the EDF's success in raising its combat readiness and visibility within NATO, Laaneots does not believe the EDF can maintain its current operational tempo. In his opinion, hard reality may likely force the MOD to scale back on its deployment ambitions. ¶8. (C) RECRUITMENT. Laaneots has often spoken out on the EDF's recruitment problem. With a booming economy, soldiers (both officers and enlisted personnel) leave the EDF at the first opportunity for better paying jobs in the private sector. With the EDF already straining to maintain its current operational tempo, Laaneots believes that a salary increase is long overdue. However, with the economy expected to grow between six and nine percent next year, Laaneots is afraid that even with the salary raise, recruitment shortfalls will grow more acute. Therefore, Laaneots wants the MOD to offer soldiers benefits common in other NATO countries (i.e., housing, food allowances, health benefits, transportation stipends, etc.) to offset the salary gap. ¶9. (C) EDF-MOD RELATIONS. Laaneots also provided his own perspective on the ongoing problems between the MOD and EDF and how he plans to deal with it. Beyond the friction between the previous CHOD and Minister Ligi, Laaneots believes there is a larger problem between the two agencies stemming from institutional growing pains. As both institutions are just 15 years old, institutional inexperience with information sharing and policy formation has led to unnecessary and publicly embarrassing rifts. In Laaneots's opinion, Estonia is still struggling to work out the technical details of civilian oversight of the military. In particular, he said there is still far too much ambiguity regarding those situations in which civilian authority and oversight should be exercised. As a small country where inter-agency relations disproportionately rely on personal relationships, Laaneots wants to institutionalize clear and formal procedures within defined parameters. WOS