February 24 is Estonia’s Independence Day. The celebration of this day includes parties and receptions as well as a military parade. On February 24, 2022, the day started differently, because early in the morning Russia had started its aggression against Ukraine. As Estonia is also a neighbor of Russia, emotions ran high. The series How We Became Soldiers summarizes the year from February 24, 2022 to February 24, 2023 in the style of docu-reality through the eyes of director Arbo Tammiksaar. During this year, Arbo, who never wanted to know anything about the military, becomes an active member of the Volunteer Defense League, participating in the 2023 Independence Day Parade with his new comrades who share the same goal. We see how a group of friends, consisting of filmmakers, writers, IT administrators, etc., who do mental rather than physical work in their daily lives, embark on a challenging journey to learn and be ready to defend their country if necessary. The narrative of this training is honest and unadorned, but the series also discusses various topics related to human values.