As noted in an earlier post, with 10 percent of its active troops on the ground in Afghanistan, Estonia is the largest per capita contributor to the coalition effort in that country. Helmand province, where the Estonian soldiers are serving, is one of the most volatile regions of the country.

Estonia joined Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002, and the following year its troops were folded into the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Estonia currently has 289 soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, most of whom are deployed in Helmand Province, where fighting is fierce. Estonia’s Afghan contingent represents 10 percent of its full-time armed forces, making Estonia the largest per-capita military contributor to the ISAF effort. Six Estonian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, a casualty rate, as a percentage of the population, approximately double that of the U.S.

Some vivid on-the-ground reporting from a journalist embedded with Estonian troops in Masood appears in today’s Washington Times.

Estonia also provides non-military support to Afghanistan, including $1.5 million in development aid that has contributed pediatric medical equipment, an oxygen delivery system for the largest hospital in Helmand Province, and funding for a library facility at Kabul University.

Why is Estonia so committed to Afghanistan? One answer is provided by Major Janno Mark, commander of the Estonian contingent. He is quoted in the Washington Times article:

“The people in Estonia understand we’re a member of NATO. We can’t just consume security; we have to contribute to it …. Looking at who is our neighbor, you can understand why we have to be a good and active member.”

Major Marks’s perspective is shared by many Estonians: the belief that the country’s investment in Afghanistan today will pay dividends, in the form of adherence on the part of other NATO members to their Article 5 commitments, in the event of any future Russian threats to the Baltics.