Baltic military cooperative projects: a record of success
ENAfter the Baltic states regained their independence in 1991, western countries, spearheaded by the Nordic states, undertook a number of cooperative military projects to develop Baltic defence capabilities. The Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion (BALTBAT) served in particular as a basis for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to develop their military forces with western assistance. BALTBAT became the model for other projects: the Baltic Naval Squadron (BALTRON), the Baltic Air Surveillance Network (BALTNET) and the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL). The Baltic Security Assistance Group (BALTSEA) was established to coordinate military assistance. This chapter will focus on BALTBAT as a case study, as it was the first project and provided the general operating template for the other Baltic defence cooperation programmes. Moreover, a number of issues were addressed in establishing BALTBAT which were important for the other projects, such as organisational structures and decision making processes. The Baltic projects arguably were a great success, and have value as both operational and academic case studies. They functioned at a challenging time in a sensitive region. The Baltic states had virtually no modern military forces upon regaining independence, and relations with Russia were tense. The Baltic projects, particularly the political decisions which laid the foundation, also provide lessons which continue to be crucial for effective military aid projects. In short, BALTBAT and the other Baltic projects have significant historical and contemporary relevance. Drawing on the literature and semi-structured interviews with key officials involved with the Baltic projects, a number of important factors for success become apparent. [p. 240].
