Conscription in Finland - Military Service

Military Service

The Finnish defence forces is based on a universal male conscription. All men above 18 years of age are liable to serve either six, nine or twelve months. Yearly about 27,000 conscripts are trained. 66% of the males complete the service. The conscripts first receive basic training, after which they are assigned to various units for special training. Privates who are trained for tasks not requiring special skills serve for six months. In technically demanding tasks the time of service is nine or (in some cases, such as those selected for NCO or officer training) twelve months. At the completion of the service, the conscripts receive a reserve military rank of private, lance corporal, corporal, sergeant or second lieutenant depending on their training and accomplishments. After their military service, the conscripts are placed in reserve until the age of 50 or 60, depending on their military rank. During their time in reserve, the reservists are liable to participate in military refresher exercises for a maximum of 40, 75 or 100 days, depending on their military rank. In addition, all reservists are liable for activation in a situation where the military threat against Finland has seriously increased, in full or partial mobilization or in a large-scale disaster or a virulent epidemic. The males who do not belong to the reserve may only be activated in case of full mobilization, and those rank-and-file personnel who have fulfilled 50 years of age only with a specific parliamentary decision.

Military service can be started after turning 18, but can be delayed due to studies, work or other personal reasons until the age of 28. In addition to lodging, food, clothes and health care the conscripts receive between €4.70 and €11.20 per day, depending on the time they have served. The state also pays for their rent and electricity bills. If the conscripts have families, they are entitled to benefits as well. It is illegal to fire an employee due to military service or due to a refresher exercise or activation. Voluntary females in military service receive a small additional benefit, because they are expected to provide their own underwear and other personal items.

Military service consists of lessons, practical training, various cleaning and maintenance duties and field exercises. The wake-up call is usually at 6am and a day's typical service lasts for twelve hours, including meals and some breaks. In the evening there are a few hours of free time. Roll call is at 9pm, and at 10pm silence is announced, after which no noise can be made. On a majority of weekends conscripts can leave the barracks on Friday and are expected to return by midnight on Sunday evening. A small force of conscripts is kept in readiness on weekends to aid civil agencies in various types of emergency situations, to guard the premises and to maintain defence in case of a sudden military emergency. Field exercises can go on regardless of the time of day or week. An average conscript spends 40–60 nights outdoors during field exercises, depending on his unit.

The training of conscripts is based on the joukkotuotanto principle (lit. English troop production). In this system, 80% of the conscripts train to fulfill a specific role in a specific war-time military unit. Each brigade-level unit has a responsibility of producing specified reserve units from the conscripts it has been allocated. As the reservists are discharged, they receive a specific war-time placement in the unit with which they have trained during their conscription. As the conscripts age, their unit is given new, different tasks and materiel. Typically, reservists are placed for the first five years in first-line units, then moved to military formations with less demanding tasks, while the reservists unable to serve in the unit are substituted with reservists from the reserve without specific placement. In refresher exercises, the unit is then given new training for these duties, if the defence budget permits this.