Rector of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater Ivari Ilja said that retaining the Band of the Estonian Defense Forces is important as it carries an important part of military culture and tradition. It is also vital to maintain musicians' jobs as their disappearance would disadvantage professional musical culture in Estonia, Ilja said on the "Esimene stuudio" talk show. Ilja said that a band is a traditional part of almost every country's defense force. "It would be very unfortunate were Estonia to become an exception to that rule," he remarked. "On the one hand, it is part of our professional music and military culture, and (EDF Commander) Lt. Gen. Herem said in an interview that the EDF budget is meant for ensuring the state's defensive capacity and not promoting brass-band music or financing Estonian music culture."