[3] A parallel attempt to create a special operations force was made within the Estonian Defence League in 1994.

[3] In 2002, under the structure of the Military Intelligence Battalion, the effort to create a special operations force was restarted.

On that day a directive, ordering the creation of the unit, was signed by the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces at the time - Ants Laaneots.

There were also cases when other unit commanders forbade participation in the selection because they didn't want to lose good soldiers.

In 2009, the unit also started receiving support from US led Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR), which was critical for the development of SOTG.

A large part of the preparations focused on learning and analysing the local geography, climate, social and economic situation, but also the strength, structure, activity and area of operations of the insurgents and allies.

One of the main roads going through the province was among the top ranked in terms of number of exploded IEDs.

Local units were mostly preoccupied with defending their own bases and insurgents had completely free rein right outside one of the central cities in the province.

A few weeks after the arrival of the Estonian Special Operations Task Unit (SOTU), the Provincial Chief of Police changed.

The Estonian unit decided to take physical action and managed to solve the situation without any allied casualties.

[10] After months of planning and difficult persuasion of the various security forces, the SOTU had reached the goal of conducting the first joint operations.

The criminal police, security services and special reconnaissance units were tasked with providing intelligence on the activities of the insurgents.

Checking and clearing the roads was slow and stressful, and if there was nobody left to guard them, in a matter of hours they had to be considered unsafe.

In the end it provided ESTSOF with more time to focus on developing the police special forces and improving their joint operations capabilities.

Training of police special forces started involving high risk arrests, air transportation and night operations.

To ensure operational safety and prevent leaks, planning was done within a limited circle of members and revealed to subordinates just before its execution.

This, combined with previous successful steps, eventually forced Taliban to move into more distant regions.

[13] The Estonian task group would also employ four Jackal armored vehicles, which were loaned from the UK for the mission.

[15] The mission ended in July 2022 due to diplomatic tensions with Mali's ruling junta.

[18] Current requirements for the candidate are as follows: at least general secondary education, completed conscript service, passing a general fitness test (at least 62 push-ups in two minutes, 72 sit-ups in two minutes, 3,2 km run under 13:49), a valid decision from the medical committee of the Defence Forces, high proficiency in Estonian and basic proficiency in English.

People with a criminal record or an addiction aren't allowed to apply for a spot in SOTG.

[19] In 2019, it was announced that ESTSOF would also begin recruiting and training conscripts to create reserve forces.

Each qualified person will also be individually analysed and evaluated and an invitation to the unit will be made after they have been found suitable.