Colonel Tõnu Miil will start leading the Headquarters of the Kaitseliit on Friday. Until now, he has been leading the planning department of the headquarters. Colonel Eero Rebo will hand over the leadership to Miil.
Miil said that nearly 6,000 members have joined the Kaitseliit in three years. Now this growth has stopped. He said: "There could always be more members. We have room to grow."
Miil also talked about regions. He said that it is more difficult to recruit members in smaller counties. More work needs to be done there.
Miil named the dual use of people as one of the bigger problems. For example, the same people work both as auxiliary police officers and in the Kaitseliit. He hopes that a new law will regulate this.
Miil said: "Today we do not know how this will be resolved. We cannot force people to choose one place or another."
He also talked about the voluntary organization. He said: "Joining is voluntary, but the tasks are clearly defined. Every member has their own task."
Miil has previously led the Pärnu County malev and the Western Defense District. From 2014 to 2018, he was the malevapealik (regional commander).