Comments by "Anders Juel Jensen" (@andersjjensen) on "R20 "Rahe" - Estonia Modernizes its Infantry Rifles" video.

I had the privilege, honor and absolute pleasure to train two batches of Estonians, here in Denmark, in the mid to late 90s. Absolutely stellar lads! There was some, shall we say, "difference of mindset" in the beginning, but once it clicked with them that we expected them to be actually thinking soldiers we had tons and tons of fun with designing missions they only had "half the information" about, and see how they would adapt and come up with novel solutions. As soon as they found out that they would never get yelled at for trying something new their creativity shot through the roof.
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@egertroos-qh7hw They were used to "You do what you're told. Exactly what you're told, and nothing but what you're told, and if you misunderstand what I say you're the one who's getting punished". It was a bit of an eye opener to them that it could be the instructors responsibility to make sure everyone has understood everything correctly.
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Their minister of defense had the most bad-ass quote at one of the Ramstein meetings: "We would much prefer to be saved than avenged, if you don't mind". That was a response to a NATO reaction time of two weeks in case of invasion. Now there's an entire German Brigade stationed there, so apparently the sentiment had the required gravity.
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And it always fails... until you impose strict "you break it, you pay for it" rules for conscripts. I mean, they still break it, but now it's coming out of their salary, so it's less of an expense.
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@Rudy97 Danish conscripts get a livable wage.
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