The Chief of Estonian Defence Forces Headquarters Colonel Riho Terras paid a visit to Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (HQ MNC NE) on 31 March 2011.
“I wanted to have my own look on how the Corps has developed because I have heard a lot good talks about that development,” said Colonel Terras about the aim of his visit to Baltic Barracks. “It was several years ago as I worked in Berlin and Warsaw as a Defence Attaché in 2001 to 2004 where I was very much involved in all the processes here in this Headquarters; it was early stage of the Headquarters and the very early stage of Estonian participation in the Headquarters,” Colonel Terras said about his previous experiences related to the Corps and his frequent visits to Szczecin.
Colonel Riho Terras was briefed about the current status of the Corps along with Corps’ mission experiences, challenges and ideas for future developments. “The big difference is that now the Headquarters is fully operational and has already been participating in the operations; there are several new nations here and there are four Estonians,” he compared the previous status of the Corps to the present situation. Talking about the importance of Estonian participation in the Corps, he said: “It is very important for Estonia and I hope it is important for the Corps as well. I think the experiences gained from the participation in ISAF mission is something we would not able to gain ourselves in our small nation. And, of course, there is personal development of the people.” he said. 
The Estonian guest discussed with the Commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast Lieutenant General Rainer Korff, his Deputy and Chief of Staff of MNC NE areas of further cooperation. As Colonel Terras said, it was about trying “to develop our own understanding how we can be useful for the Corps and how we can use the Corps for ourselves.” He also expressed his conviction about a bright future for the Corps and the willingness to “analyze the Estonian bit of this bright future”. Military education was mentioned as a possible area of further cooperation as the Baltic Defence College located in Tartu, Estonia, is a regional educational organisation run by the three Baltic Counties and other allied nations.
It was not the first visit of Estonian officials in Baltic Barracks in the recent time. In October 2010, the visit to the Headquarters paid the Estonian Permanent Representative to NATO, the Estonian Ambassador to Poland, the Estonian Defence Attaché to Poland, the Estonian Defence Attaché to Germany and the Estonian Deputy Defence Counsellor to NATO.
