One important thing is that we dont have "military" we have "defence force" . People always forget that we really dont train to attack mostly just defend.

@ihis81

7 ай бұрын

This! The most important note is just this. Finland has always only wanted to defend itself.

@Marxist-Nixonist-Bidenist

5 ай бұрын

Armored brigade: "I concur"

@artturisiikanen3843

4 ай бұрын

miksi erotella poulustusvoimat kuulostaa nössöiltä verrattuna armeijaan

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

Yes! I for one, am one of most men here who went to army, and while I'd defend our country to whatever Russians or anyone else would throw at us, and rest assured I can look death and hell in the eye and still walk forward. Done that before. But, if our country decided to take our lands back from Russia or attack any country for any reason just for offense, I'd say "fuck you pigs, shoot me or anything you like, I got better things to do than die for absurd causes. I rather die for my cause than for something a totally lost person would have me do."

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

@@artturisiikanen3843 Ksoka puolustusvoimat ei ota muilta mitään turhan takia. Venäjältä olisi ehkä hyvä ottaa maita ja pistää niiden maiden luonto ja ihmiset voimaan hyvin, venäläiset eivät taida osata pitää huolta oikein mistään. Mutta edes siitä syystä, en usko että suostuisin hyökkäyssotaan mukaan. Saavat teloittaa mut tai mitä vaan, mulla on tärkeämpiäklin asioita joiden puolesta elää ja kuolla. Sulla ei sitten taida olla?

Tourists have no idea that guy behind that hotdog stand know how to destroy tank with nlaw and dismantle rifle and put it back in working order in no time at all, even behind his back eyes closed😂

The mandatory duty stems from one fact alone: geography. Finland´s struggle during WW2 is of course well documented (if I remember correctly, on this channel as well). But the list of conflicts between Russia and Sweden (including Finland) is much longer, starting with the first peace treaty back in the year 1323. SInce then, there has been at least one war every century (1495-97), (1554-82), (1590-95), (1609-1617), (1656-58), (1700-21), (1741-43), (1788-90) and (1808-09). I am not blaming Russia for all the wars. However, keeping the population ready just in case, makes more sense in Finland than in the UK, I guess.

@lucone2937

6 ай бұрын

Sweden and Denmark also had 11 wars between 1521 and 1814. In 1521-1523 Gustav Eriksson (Wasa) lead a rising against King Kristian II and finally ended the Kalmar Union. The last two Dano-Swedish Wars were in 1808-1809 when Denmark allied with Russia to support the continental system of Napoleon, and later the Swedish invasion of Norway in 1814. For centuries Sweden had to be ready to fight against Russia in the east and Denmark-Norway in the south and west. At the time Finland was basically the eastern part of Sweden, and Turku (Åbo) was the main city here.

If he's mind-blown about the conscription, I wonder what will happen if he learns about the shelter/bunker systems.

Personally, I went through the civil service in 2016-2017. I was kind of a hardline pacifist then, but didn't want to get the C-papers (excempt from military service) even though I could have. Turns out, it was a great move for my life and career. During the month of training I was introduced to a bunch of new friends and after that, served in a university hospital genetics department. Inspired by that, nowadays I'm a geneticist myself after studying biology for 5 years in the university. Now those civil service people are working for me while I'm studying for my doctoral thesis. I haven't forgotten where I came from though, so I'm mostly giving them an easy time 😊.

The population of Finland is so small, that mandatory conscription is the only way to produce enough trained forces, if our only possible enemy decides to come and visit again. Very few people actually dislike the conscription. It also gives everyone a great general understanding of how to act in crisis situations. It benefits the whole society in peace time too. Thanks to the conscription, Finland can mobilize more trained troops than German, UK and French professional armies combined. Believe it or not. Edit: Please remember that when Finland joined NATO, the NATO border with russia DOUBLED in km. So we have quite a responsibility up here, guarding the north. Which is directly affecting the UK too. Vice versa too, as close allies. The sea does not make UK safe anymore. Allies who are neighbouring the sea, they do.

@Makapaa

7 ай бұрын

Yep, the magic of Active (& fully trained) Reserve instead of Active Military. Much more cost-effective too, i'd imagine!

@user-dg3io4px6n

3 ай бұрын

Yup. I got into Suomi and swedish culture to an extent as a kid through my favorite metal bands children of bodom from espoo, finland and then i got arch enemy which they are from halmstad, sweden. And learned suomi and swedish to extent like fuck i dont even understand America culture and i been here all my life. Suomi, swedish and uk culture i got into heavy. Mix them together cause i do bouce around between them pretty quickly

@user-dg3io4px6n

3 ай бұрын

This dude be surprised to find some words like please in sweden doesn't have that as a word in their country finland also has that as well but i don't remember which words it was. I know theirs more in swedish i dont got them all memorized like use to as a kid.

@user-dg3io4px6n

3 ай бұрын

And with finland dont got memorized anymore like use too

@trevdestroyer8209

3 ай бұрын

Military service shouldn't be mandatory under any circumstances

The allowance might not seem like a lot of money but do mind that the army basically pays everything for you except like alcohol, sodas or snacks

@mikkohapponen5728

7 ай бұрын

And mainly not topacco or snus. Its really low

@Makapaa

7 ай бұрын

Indeed. You're fully taken care of when in the barracks. Upkeep, food, health all covered - and like said, even your property pays are taken care of. There really is nothing else to pay but your mobile fees, entertainment subs and snacks. And in 2 weeks you can muster quite a bit of balance to blow on your holidays!

@MBuliveivari

7 ай бұрын

@@Makapaa And very often people are 18-19. So they are living at parents when they go to army.

You can opt out of the military service. Other options are civil services or house arrest/jail. Edit: Careful when calling something finnish communist. We have bad history with commies. One of the bigger insults to be called a commie. Edit numero dos: I did the full year to get the leadership training. If I had the chance, I'd do the service again since it was pretty fun.

@TheRealBillix

7 ай бұрын

He's not entirely wrong that it seems pretty communistic, but yeah, Finns don't f with commies :D

@toniheikkila5607

7 ай бұрын

Communism is about society without a state, classes, money or exploitation. It has nothing to do with armies or military. Therefore pointing to communism when talking about military is, well, pointless.

@2506754250675

7 ай бұрын

​@@toniheikkila5607true that. and anyways we are social democratic country like our brethren in sweden/norway/denmark my BAE is norwegian citizen (as norway didnt allow dual citizenship until few years ago) i also have lots of family in sweden whom with i havent been i contact after end of 80s

@Charon152

7 ай бұрын

Thank you for your military service, determination and dedication!@sakatt41

@trevdestroyer8209

7 ай бұрын

​@sakatt41I feel sorry for children whose parents have no qualms about sending their children to be robots and train to kill and die for the elites

I was III/-93 Military police and damn proud of it. In Finland, mandatory service is an honour, not something you should be afraid of, or something to avoid.

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

I didn't wanna go there. I was in the forces to counter (Russia's) atomic bomb and biological and chemical weapon attacks, the ABC branch. I don't regret it one bit, on the contrary, now with some life experience I could teach a few things that would make folks in service quite dangerous in the field. Things like facing your own death and killing enemy and living as a non-psychopath after you aim and end their life. I've not killed a human being but a pet rat, with my own hands, so I know damn well how it can crush you to kill a being that should live. It's worse than my suicide attempt from which doc said it was a real miracle I lived, let alone walked well and functioned pretty well afterwards. Yeah... I think suicide attempt from which you live could make our military folks much stronger. Only problem is, you might die. But at least you'd get more comfy with death.

Yes, practically all Finnish men have been thought how to properly use firearms, as well as how to maintain those guns in proper condition. That is the point of the conscription, have an army of the size of a nation. Nowadays there is much more options besides going in the army. In the olden days the options were basically either army or prison. In those days pretty much all men (and just men) went to the army. Now men can go to civil service instead of prison, but still some people go to prison rather than do civil service, since they are opposed to any kind of mandatory service. Women have been able to go to the army since 1995, though they don't have to. Women can go to the army and try it out for about 2 months and quit whenever they want without consequences, but when that 2 months (the basic training) is over, those who still continue and get to assign their role have to see it through. If they then quit, they have to do civil service for the rest of the time they have been assigned for or go to prison, same as men.

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

Ah, so they have to do civil service if they quit after 2 month period, our female tigers. In my army times we had at least 4 women among the over hundred men there, and that was about 20 years ago, and also several of the junior officers were women there. One of the female conscripts was brisk-spirited, often smiled happily, shaved her hair like all men did, and she went through it all with the rest of us. Gets my respect, sister-at-arns,

Sure it sucks that it's mandatory but if you go into it with an open mind it is actually quite fun. You get a chanse to do stuff you can't do as a civilian, for me it was shooting atrillery guns, quite fun indeed. You will learn new skills too like first aid and survival skills. I also liked the routine and the forced dicipline, it was really good for me. And it was refreshing to get a break from this world. Outside you had all these different things to worry about and in the army you could just live in the moment, you never had to worry about meals or what you should do. I miss the army. I've been thinking of a military career for a while now. And well it is a sacrife we need to make if we want to stay independent while living next to Russia. I'm happy to make that sacrifice.

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

Yeah. I have found good reasons to go through hell if Russia brought it to us to Finland again. Once, we have the forests and lakes, our greatest treasures. Many of us dream of owning a lil' cabin on the lake shore near forests, and just enough money to live simple life. That's the finnish dream. I think it's the forest and the cold weather, our connection with nature and the cold that makes us a bit more like polar bears, that makes us stronger than Russians by default.

The service is mandatory, but very few people do it against their will. It is considered quite ok, even fun, and gives fairly good leadership training that is useful later in life. I served in the coast artillery back in 1981-82 and while having spent my earlier life far from the sea I found the year in the archipelago truly a lot of fun. Coast artillery at the permanent fortifications also felt the right place for me mentally in case of war - you are not supposed to go anywhere but hold your ground, and if it turns bad, there is no place more beautiful on this planet to die for than the Finnish archipelago.

I am 52 years old. I am today in 2nd reserve force. Still, I practice shooting and military skills as a reservist. I did my conscription in 1992-1993 but I am still able bodied soldier if necessary. And proud of it.

Without conscription it might have been Finland instead of Ukraine... "If you want peace, prepare for war".

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

Yeah. Even with weaker population than we had in WW2, I'd say our force could still scare most russians in the field to take their own machine gunner's bullet than to advance a meter here.

The unformal working environment is even visible in the military. Especially between the career military who train the conscripts and run the whole system. When I was working as a training officer as 1st Lieutenant i could just go sit at the mess to the brigade commander (Colonel) table and greet him informally like "Hey man, how's things in the HQ?" and address him with his first name. If shit hits the fan it is clear to everyone who is leading, but you do not have to constantly show it in everyday life. Just makes things easier.

@user-dg3io4px6n

3 ай бұрын

Thats where i get that from is suomi military way of doing things like people think im always pissed and shit i hardly talk or socialize. I just go bout my business and shit. Its like i know alot of shit but don't show things idk how too word it exactly but to me essentially you dont have to constantly show you know something in everyday lifeis where im getting at mainly

@user-dg3io4px6n

3 ай бұрын

I always wondered why i felt so close to the finnish. Probably helped i got curious bout your guys countries through my favorite finnish metal band children of bodom and for Sweden arch enemy i love them bands

Aside from being bullied what I remember from my army time is the empty feeling when it ended. I had no job and no school when I went to army. I remember walking to a bus stop to get to home and just feeling empty. And the emptiness lasted for a while because in the army you got used to all the routines and suddenly they were no more. Your life that had been for 9 months suddenly got turned upside down. I was also happy it ended but still felt the emptiness.

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

Hm. I suppose army doesn't cure everything, even though going through the military training of Finland did make me stronger and more disciplined, able to face challenges better. We should take better care of people like you. Bullying is not the answer.

you don't have to join the army. You can also complete it as a civil service. meaning that you work, for example, in care for the elderly.

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

Civil service is needed too during war. Everyone in the front lines gotta eat once a few days or so at least, and drink water at least once a day to stay focused. Civil Service folks can support our front line folk and enable them to rise up to the challenge and face the hellfire head-on.

Im not even a finn, im a swede and i spat my drink out in laughter when you used the word "communist" in the context of looking for the word you where looking for - dictatorial/autocratic. Even I know that communist/commie is one of the worst things you can call a finn or a finnish military man. Especially with 1. Fighting multiple wars with russia and the soviet union. 2. The Soviet ocupation of the areas originally belonging to Finnland, there are living survivors and decendents of these wars, attrocities, forced displacements, refugugees and soilders. 3. The god damn day Finnland became independent from Russia. 4. Red vs white uprising, where the "whites" one over the "reds". 5. What Finnland had to sacrifice and edure to stay independent from both soviet russia and Nazi Germany in WW2. Even though sweden and Finnland are in one way very different and sweden do not have conscription anymore, we used to have a very similar system not too long ago and the attitudes are still about the same. Conscription is seen as an honour and a walk of passage for young men, regardless if there is a realistic threat of war in his lifetime or not, if not he sees it as an opportunity to grow and develop as a person, get experience and (military education) that is actually valued in the job market as you are seen as a competent, disciplined person and possible leader in your workforce.

@user-dg3io4px6n

3 ай бұрын

I dont remember hearing bout Sweden switching up like with their military. But i also like to call finland and sweden the twins of europe

@user-dg3io4px6n

3 ай бұрын

Is that actually accurate though sweden and finland is the twins of europe?

@billw.overbeck8913

Ай бұрын

What about the red Finns that died and we're subject of war crimes during the civil war? Their legacy lives on thankfully

@jonatanmarklund7473

Ай бұрын

@@user-dg3io4px6n Swedes and finns have alot in common but I would not call them twins because the language is so far apart, but family yes because there is alot of people who migrated between the two or speak a combo of both languages. I would say that swedes and Norwegians are more "twins" or siblings because of history, language and cultural similarities + danish which share a great deal with both sweden and Norway.

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

I'm from Finland and served in the army. My life may have had some periods that would had killed some finnish men, even though I wasn't in a war nor in violent situations. But yeah... I don't consider communism inherently bad, it's a good idea that's often abused by people for their own ends. Just like capitalism turning to plutocracy (corporations controlling the government, like in USA).

After this coscriptionservice men return to civil life as reservist. Military authority can order You back to service max 90 days every year. Normally , depending of your training, you will be called to revise exercise once or a while. Normally once in 5 years maybe, but some very important fields require that you might get called regulary every year.

the daily allowance is really little, but you don't need money in the Puolustusvoimat. You get everything for free, food, clothes, bed, exercise, laundry services, trips home, etc. There is a Sotilaskoti (Sotku aka military home) in the garrison where you can take your money and get coffee and a bun for half the price of a civilian life. P.s.Of course the state will pay your rent if it forces you to serve, and possibly sacrifice your life defending the Eastern Border

@meantimppa320

7 ай бұрын

That sounds like idea for next vids to cover. How our goverment actually uses tax money to protect citizens with preparation for all the worst cases that can happen.

The initial service is just the beginning. You can (and most will ) get called up for refresher training ever so often.

We should also not forget the women who can also enter the service if they want to. you get good points for it, e.g. in police school. The number of trained female volunteers exceeded the number of trained women in a year for the first time, Puolustusvoimat informs. In 2022, 1211 women started the service, which was also the highest number in history. During 2022, a total of 1,040 women were discharged from the Defense Forces and the Border Guard More than 11,000 women have already completed their military service.

The fact that every man has to serve is because finland is such a small country and the threatning countries are so much more bigger. If we didn't have all the conscripts we would be too easy to conquer and russia would have probably tried it succesfully after ww2.

In general the mandatory service serves as a good place to learn routine and general healthy lifestyle, and certain kind of humility and tolerance to physical and mental stress. The rent part is somewhat irrelevant, as most guys who're enrolled are still barely out of high school and thus live with their parents. And while you do get to keep your university spot if you've got in, it still does hinder your studies (and thus career progression) by at least a half a year. Also, those who serve for 12 months, ie. NCOs and reserve officers somewhat get the short straw - sure, the experience was unique and all, and it doesn't look bad on your CV, but overall the only concrete compensation for delaying your studies and career are 8-ish university credits universities compensate you as studies done elsewhere. All in all though, it's a unifying experience for those who go through it, even well over a decade since my service, I can still find topics and things to relate with people I've only just met through what we experienced in the army.

It makes me sad that i couldn't complete my training (severe case of epilepsy) so i was given C papers meaning "released from service for peacetime"

@trevdestroyer8209

3 ай бұрын

You are still eligible to serve in wartime with epilepsy?

@mikkos8636

18 күн бұрын

I'm glad you went for it though. We have a good reason to defend this great nation.

I actually was liberated from mandatory service here in Finland, since my left knee is busted and i do have triple nationality, that might ended up causing diplomatic issues.

After 14:09 you said that basically all the men in our country know how to handle guns. I can tell you a public secret: in addition to the military firearms we have also smth like 2 million hunting etc. guns in people's homes and even most of the grandmas know how to shoot :D

Did my time serving my country way back. 30 yrs ago. "The civil service" guys we never had much respect for. "The cinnabon eaters" we called them. These days even some women sign up to serve. Voluntarily. Much respect for them ladies.

Dwayne: After having gone through the military, everybody will remain in the reserve to be called up for active service if needed. that's where the 60 years old limit comes in. All reservists are called to refresher courses from time to time and it's an honor and a duty to participate no matter what your position in the society is, rich or poor, CEO or handy man. That's where the figure of 900,000 ready-for-battle men originates from.

There was actually a celebrity here in Sweden who comes from Finland. He came down to Sweden to do a one-off thing but became known and started working with television. Then after 6 years he went back to Finland to see his grandmother for two weeks. The day after he arrived at grandma's, the police came to pick him up because he was four years late with his military service. We are talking about MANDATORY.

There are plenty of ways to Serve, even if you object to Armed part of the Duty. If you do not want to do your service in the Military, "Civil Service" is your only legal alternative. You serve that 1+11 months participating in some municipal/"public services" place of work - much like one would do if they'd started an apprentice contract. AFAIK, CivS can be tied to your current career if you already have established place of work in a comparable field. They'd pretty much just need to register it as your "service post" and ensure your hours are properly logged. If you decline from both the (non-)Armed Service and Civil Service - you are indeed send to jail for failing your legal responsibility. But if you have good reasons for delaying your Service, it is pretty easy to request and receive a later revaluation/entry date. You are right that there are some serious stigma related to Civil Service, but IMO, it all comes down to your reasons: If you are one of the "I-dont-wanna" people, you are treated as such. Weakling, undeserving a proper respect etc. Who would respect someone that is just seeking an easy way out? But if you're choosing CS due say, you having lowered medical status (but no exemption), you being the sole caretaker of family (children, elders etc) OR your current career aligns with the "terms" of Civil Service, it is completely different. You are seen same as any (tho pretty much all-costs-covered) "trainee/apprentice". Only difference is the standardized pays for each serving person.

"I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."

Back in the day in UK you could be sneaked up upon, knocked unconscious with a club, dragged into a warship and next morning: "Surprise, youre in the navy now!"

@gadi70

7 ай бұрын

doubt.

@toniheikkila5607

7 ай бұрын

@@gadi70 You can Google "press gangs".

I did my service in 1995 in Rovaniemi. We had a training in the woods for 3 or 4 days. Staying in tents. It got as cold as - 38C. No problems. Skied for ab 70km at that training. Give me any Navy Seal or a Us Marine that can do that. This is just normal training for most of finnish trrainees, age of 18 to 29. One of the most scarieast thing for the enemy is that the person at the restaurant pouring you coffee, might be trainened as a sniper, close combat MP, guerrilla warfare etc. You never know 🙄 But 80 8:09 % of men can dismantle and put back together an AK under 2 mins. Most of us can do that with a basic 9mm pistol as well. But the main thing is that we can and know how to survive in the bush. All year around. .

Mortar squad leader 330 days conscription, and two years as "Ylikersantti" training conscripts.

7:25 Yap this. Its not that suprising when you remeber who is next to us😅

Men are available for service from 18 to 65 year of age. But one must participate in mandatory training before reaching age of 30 years. Mandatory training is like a basic training for army skills and then you make your army rank. You can get released for health reasons. But a conviction is not a legal reason for release. But if you refuse to service you get jail time for 6 months. So basicly 75-80% of finnish men go to army before reaching 30.

You can alternatively go to civil service or get released from service based on medical condition. Or go to prison (home arrest, really, with tracking device) for six months.

@MrBanaanipommi

7 ай бұрын

lol yeah, that prison option would be the easiest and probably most profitable in money...

Even two of our candidates running for the presidency of Finland have not been in military service. They have completed their civil service. It includes a training period and then working in the public sector, for example in hospitals, libraries, road construction or whatever.

The dayly allowance isn't much but The military gives clothes, food and a place to sleep. In The military Area you can buy stuff extremely cheap like a cup of coffee was 0,5€ in 2016

I served my 11 months as NCO back in 1993 and now my son is serving his 11 months. I have not ever been really patriotic, or haven't thought about it, but with the war in Ukraine and own son serving at the moment, all the feelings have totally changed. I'm proud of the Finnish Defence Force and our readiness to defend our country.

Here in Norway we have mandatory conscription for both menn and women. However, just around 17 500 out of 60 000 are qualified to get conscripted each year. And only around 8000 out of thouse 17 500 do actually serve as for reason of belifes or other reason that they dont want to join the millitary. So its mandatory on paper, but not really anymore as they have more people than they need serve anyways.

If you want a look on the attitude of guns and military service, check out Switzerland or US vs Switzerland. Switzerland where every home can own a military grade firearm to be that level of prepared for war and invasion, have a huge active gun culture, gun festivals that are combined with beer culture/festivals and drinking. BUT STILL have low crime rates, no mass shootings, extreme respect for firearms and no joking about, no popularization (making it "cool" - buybuybuy) of firearms.

The time in the army was the best time of my life. The saying goes that "boys become men there." Military service is a mandatory duty of every male citizen. If it's possible. Afterwards, I'm sad that I didn't stay and work in the army. There you also learn certain values ​​and respect for future life, which unfortunately many young people lack nowadays. Finland is a unique country that our ancestors have defended throughout history. We should be proud of it and do our duty for it. Thanks to war veterans, we still have a special country that must be cherished in the future. No one can thank or respect them enough. Remember that life in Finland is not a given.

I went to army not because I idolise war. I wanted to learn basic gun handling, being outdoors in wild. Other reason was if I sometimes find myself in a war zone in any countrt, I have a basic idea with weapons and warfare.

Military service is great for everyone, not because you learn to shoot and fight but because of the discipline and routine

@TheRealBillix

7 ай бұрын

Also its not like Finland ever attacks anywhere, we have mandatory conscription because of our eastern neighbor :D I mean we could just idle and get fd

@billw.overbeck8913

Ай бұрын

You also get bullied and chronical illnesses. Good experience

Military service can be performed in armed or unarmed service or in civilian service. Unarmed service If your conviction prevents you from performing your military service in armed service, you can apply for unarmed service. The Conscription Act provide for unarmed service as follows: A conscript who, based on conviction, is prevented from performing his military service in armed service and who applies for unarmed service, is released from armed service and assigned to unarmed service. The service of the unarmed is organized in such a way that the conviction of the unarmed does not come into conflict with the fulfillment of service tasks. An unarmed person is not obliged to use a weapon or ammunition in the service, to practice using them or to participate in their maintenance. Otherwise, the unarmed person must perform the service in accordance with this law, and the provisions for soldiers apply to him. The service period of unarmed conscripts is 255 days, unless they are assigned to training, which requires 347 days of service. Those who serve unarmed are not trained as armed fighters of the wartime forces, but are trained for tasks that do not require the use of a weapon or being taught how to use one. Those serving unarmed can be selected and trained for operationally important garrison-oriented tasks or special tasks. In exceptional cases, those who serve unarmed can also be trained for the role of supervisor. Those who served unarmed belong to the reserve like those who served armed. Those who served unarmed can be placed in the wartime force under the production responsibility of the troop department, based on the training and suitability, for example in surveillance, communication and maintenance tasks. Application forms are available from the regional offices and the troops department. The application is filled in according to the instruction text and must be signed by the applicant. The application is submitted to the regional office or to the commander of the troop division where you serve. Civil service If reasons of conviction prevent you from performing the military service stipulated in the Military Conscription Act, you can apply for an exemption from performing it. In this case, you must apply for civil service. You can find more information about the time and place of performing civil service on the website of the civil service. The civil service period is 347 days and it starts with a four-week training period at the Civil Service Center. You complete the rest of the service in the employment service at the employment service location you have obtained yourself. You can submit a civil service application at the earliest in the invitations. Your application will be processed by the Regional Office of the Defense Forces. Åland people Those who have Åland home region rights and who moved to the province under the age of 12 can instead of doing military service, serve in a similar way in a pilot and lighthouse institution or in another civil administration. Until such a service is arranged, those with home region rights are exempt from military service. Corporal of Coastal Artillery Logistic/Fire Management

An ex-anti-aircraft artillery battery medic here. No hard feelings for those who go for civil service. The way I saw it a couple of years later in life, the best and consequently also the worst way to get to know your fellow countrymen is to go to through the military route first and before you turn 27 call your regional HQ and tell them you are going to transition to the civil service and you get to go through the civil service training. I haven't gone that route, but I've heard there are some who have done it. After a few years it loses it's meaning to ask people what they did as the reserve/civilian life starts to mean more, unless you are a kook or in the system. There is a tongue-in-cheek saying that it doesn't matter what your rank is as long as it has (Ret.) after it. There is also the most extreme route that you can go to prison if you don't find either of the services up to your refined tastes. And in the military there are two varieties of the training also, armed (for the most of us) and weaponless service (mainly cooks and other logistics train personnel who can be either variety).

Thank God Poland abolished mandatory military service

The money thing, it used to be about a pack of cigarettes, coffee and a doughnut from the soldiers home (a free time canteen, has massage chairs, all kinds of food, extra warm clothing and gear for sale, library, gaming consoles..) with the guns, I was in artillery for first part of my service and nco school. Got to shoot some bigger field guns. Rest of service mostly the service rifle and got into sports shooting and hunting through the army that continues to my reserve life. Would love to get into combat style sports shooting too! :)

the same here in Sweden, not everyone is called to the muster. then it is necessary to pass the test, health and psyche as well as what you wish to become in the military. it is not certain that you will meet the requirements, then it might be good to do military service training. make men out of boys. I myself got into what I wanted, the engineering team and drive an excavator, wheel loader, dump truck, etc

No, Dwayne, of course there are options like civil service, conscientious objectors, etc. One worrying factor today is that the number of guys who leave the army training in midcourse has been rising. The physical fitness of the conscripts has plummeted. Today, women can join as well, but it's only if they want to, it's not mandatory.

My english might fail me here and I dont want to sound wrong here. I actually dont quite know how things were at UK back then right before WW2. Ofcourse they had long history of wars hundreds and hundreds of years. Yet when (again) they faced real thread they had to draft, fast train and fast equip their forces. Remarcable effort which we all should be grateful for. But imagine if they had basically all nation ready trained and equipped beforehand .. Hmm.. just a thought .. conscription works.

At 7:00, being liberal. A fun fact and a thing one might not think about of a liberal democracy like Finland is that roughly 50% of the Parliament members hold a military rank. If you would go to Helsinki as a tourist and everyone that has a military rank would walk in uniform you would freak out; it would be like a huge military base.

Think about South Korea and Israel. They have at least double servicetime, and not very communist

My grandson has diabetes, so he won't be accepted into the army, because they can't guarantee access to insulin everywhere

I flew from Australia to do my service, yes i was born there to Finnish parents so i was a finnish citizen. I felt it was the right thing to do.

Having served in 6 months in 2022 its not as bad during the summer months but in the winter its a lot tougher

180 days in Kajaani from July 2004 to January 2005

19:31 made perfect sense. I got a lot out of the military service because of this.

They actually shortened the service time a while back, in early 2000's when I did my service it was 180, 270 or 360 days. Daily allowance was smaller too (3,60€ , 5,70€ and 8,90€ iirc). Note that this is wage for men, volunteer women get some extra because army do (or did) not provide them with underwear.

Military route here, Sergeant. 28 years ago tho ;)

Conscription isn't like what military would be for professional soldier. Conscripts are well taken care of and there are insane precautions to prevent any dangers. For me it was awesome 365 mornings in army, it was like a really long summer camp with the bois with lots of good memories.

i kinda did both, the military service AND civilservice. thought i was feeling very bad i made that decision because i had like less than 2 months to go in the army... thought not much more to learn but civil service was +8 months after that so... lol... well i say i did both, and now i have at least a summer job every summer if i dont find any better..

And if you really don't want to do any service, military or civil, then you'll go to jail for a 12 months or so. I did my military service back in 2008, served only that 6 months.

@santtumoilanen3065

7 ай бұрын

I just told doctor in medical check of my social anxiety and i didnt have to do either of em HOWEEVER im only free in times of peace. if war was to break up they would train us to use guns for like month and send us to field

@trevdestroyer8209

7 ай бұрын

​@@santtumoilanen3065I don't understand the logic if a person isn't capable to serve in peace time due to stress and anxiety then how the fuck are they supposed to cope during war

The Finnish army is also the biggest driving school in the country.

I am surprised that you didn't know about civil service before, Dwayne. Anyway, it's not served under the government, but under some non-profit organization, as mentioned in the video. It can belong to the state or the municipality, but a common-good association or foundation can also be a feasible place (as well as one of the two state churches).

Went to army in kajaani too like in video. Jaeger,6 months. Our friend group didnt give hard time to civil service mens. But i know only few who done it,intrested maybe,how thing rolled there and all that

For such a small country it is best suited for military service to be forced even at the cost of person's morals. Feelings and morals are minuscule if you're getting invaded.

I found the army entertaining almost like a shouty daycare with jogging and with guns. 30min Jogging is my only tip you should do half a year a head before, lifting is only for the artillery.

about 70% of men do military service. It is also possible to choose civilian service instead of military service. For health or psychological reasons, it is also possible for a man to be released from military service either completely or for peacetime.

Basically it's more like rite for teens to adulthood. And every soldier is gentleman before warrior, but most of all every soldier is equal to 10 cleaners.

The thing is, even though doing the military service sucks, I'd still take that any day over being invaded by russia. Even when people are talking about stuff like it only being mandatory for men the solution is never that it shouldn't be mandatory for men, people always think it should be mandatory for women as well Edit: also have to add about the transferable skills: a significant portion of finnish truck drivers are actually trained by the military

Aleksi actually makes an error in Finnish concerning the nice shirt bit: "Mistä olette saaneet noin hienon paidan?" is erroneous and the main verb "saaneet" ("saada", got) of the compound form should not be in plural even if the auxiliary verb "olette" ("olla", have) is and should be, when formally / politely addressing a single person. The correct Finnish sentence should be "Mistä olette saanut noin hienon paidan?" The error is very understandable, as the polite plural form is so rarely used (as established) that even the Finns don't know how to speak it properly.

I am a scout engineer (pioneeri) corporal my expected life at battle field is 3 minutes :D we go troguh enemy lines and try to do sabotage etc there IF we get trough enemy lines

i got exempted from peace time service but now that i pretty much have nothing to do i would love to be in the army.

I think it's wrong that I as a man would have to shave my head and be forced to army or civilian service. And women can choose to go if they want and don't need to shave their heads. And I hate guns and violence. I just told them that and that I can't stand rules for the sake of rules. And that I would rather serve as a prisoner than be forced anywhere. And would probably shoot someone by accident if I had a loaded gun and heard a gunshot or other sudden loud noise. I got free psychotherapy and tickets to a hockey match and was free to go. If there is a war I still have to serve, but it would not involve combat. I work in IT support and the formal way of addressing people comes automatically to me. Even when I keep the door open for a young neighbour I say olkaa hyvä instead of ole hyvä.

Regarding the hierarchy, I actually found it to be more difficult the other way around. After spending a year in the military getting used to addressing more senior people in that way it felt wrong to address my university professors with their first names. It took some getting used to. And another thing, the military service isn't really mandatory, nowadays only around 70% of men complete their service. So its certainly not all men.

I think the military service is quite short time you need to give back to your home country. First you get free ( or at least very cheap) healthcare from day one. Then from the 6 yrs old forward you get free education ( or cheap at least) at least around 18 years. And even longer if you want to. One 6 months or so to serve is not much asked for.

Finland doesn't have defense forces. Finland is defense force.

We have Defence force in Finland. Yep and it is very insulting call our system communist. It is not. Those young guys great-grand fathers fight against Sovjet Union.

No mention of RUK :( that was the stuff of nightmares and dreams lol. Fun stuff but so many stories

21:45 It is actually illegal for an employer to ask if you did military or civil service, unless you bring it up yourself in your cv or during an interview.

i did go to army like 3 days an after i went to back to work

yeah man the daily allowance aint much but, its a little more now than in this video. now its 165 5.90€ 255 9.60€ and 347 13.20€ if i remember correctly.

We had conscription in Sweden earlyer

Finns' will to defend our country is the top in the world at 83%. I have noticed many times that you have problems with your intellect to figure things out - to put it nicely.

proud to was in army and i still thing its the back bone off our small nation for defence force.. without us would be easy to just take the country and i still thing we should keep this up till all world is safe and no military needed in anywhere.. just my own oppinnion so dont need to get mad if u thing otherwhy

For a country of 5.5M people mandatory conscription is the only feasable way to upkeep the manpower and skills to make Finland a far too pricey target for Russia to try the Ukraine/Georgia treatment to. If you compare to Ukraine for example that has a population of 44M people we have a much larger and better equipped military than what they had in february 2022.

This video does skip quit many corners, but the essentials are mostly correct. It's piss easy to "avoid" military service though: just apply for a civilian service instead (essentially a 1 year long community service / work practice gig). Still too much of a brat to be credit to society? You can also sit that time in jail. If you wanna get more up-to-date and official info, look up Puolustusvoimat channel's info videos (ie. "Asepalvelus" and "Taistelukenttä"). But yes, every other bloke (+ a few thousand women to boot) have gotten real deal military training, and form the "reserves", which is the main bulk of the Finnish military. We're talking up to 900K troops here, almost one million defenders of the nation, in a country with a population of only 5 Mil. On top of that, in a real war, EVERY Finnish citizen is eligible to help the nation's defense, one way or another. The service's legit part of the culture and "growing up" phase to most. It's a huge opportunity that can yield various benefits even in the civilian life afterwards, and it's a time of your life most "kids" hate during the military service itself, but fondly recall years later. Some even continue "training" on their own in the reserves, participating in various voluntary courses, shooting competitions, etc. Yes - it's indeed possible for a Finnish citizen to own "scary military-like weapons" and gear. We rank like 4th in the total guns per population scale in the world, partly aided by the popularity of hunting as well.

I served 285 in Anti Tanks 1991-92

no no, you join and you gonna love it (told to me -99)

It is a fun fact that the main argument for the mandatory service in Finland is that we are neighboring Russia, the country which first established the mandatory service in Finland when Finland was under the Russian rule. It's like the Finnish people want to keep the Russian system in order to not have the Russian system in their country.

Some idiots or kids might look down upon some who don't go to the army but not reasonable person over 25 will give a single flying fuck whether you went there or not.

Before 2008 service times in Finland were 8 and 11 months. I was 11 months in 1991-1992.

@SharksAttack

7 ай бұрын

between 1998 and 2013 it was 180, 270 and 362 days.

@MikaElf

7 ай бұрын

@@SharksAttack True, ChatGPT lied to me. Better to trust old Wiki. 😀

Our Finland's army is called "Puolustusvoimat" in finnish, which translates literally "defence forces" in english. Note that it's "defence" forces, not "offence" forces, not "war" forces. Of course if war comes, we bring all the hell to those who want to burn our woods, pollute our lakes, and oppress us for their petty reasons. However, and this is just me and I know a lot of us finns disagree with me on this one, but! If Russia went to war against us, and the russian military privates started to abandon the russian army and try to escape to Finland to live there free, like they have been doing in the Ukraine war now, I for one would welcome every single russian here as long as they swear a blood oath to respect us and be kind to us. I would give them my own food and money and take one of them to live in my flat without paying rent to me. That's Finland for me. And, if Finland decided to attack any other country for ANY reason, even Russia, I'd just say "fuck it, I got better things you do. Shoot me or imprison me all you like, I'm not interested in petty things like that." Unless maybe if we were conscripted to defend Ukraine from Russia, that's a whole different thing. Mikko!

I have to agree with you Dwayne. The military service is very authoritian, not communist necessarily but they used the same system. You can skip it if you like but there is a social pressure to go through it but people are more accepting about civil service these days.

You serve the greater good wheter you like it or not funny thing is one time back in high school we had social studies and the teacher had a law idea to make the military not mandatory and we were supposed to act like the goverment trying to get trough a law it ended up being most people in class (myself included) voting for an even stricter system lol

@trevdestroyer8209

7 ай бұрын

So you like when people are forced to kill and die against their will? is everyone in your class and country so evil? Thank God Poland doesn't have this

Basically yes - Finland is ready. Still there is a lot of people who says otherwise.

If someone forgot - lol. Women serve too. It is out of free choice for Finnish women though. Sometimes I think we Finns try to make things too compact and efficient when people explain shit lol. He forgot the ladies - lol. And why in the world did he not take lil bit of time to tell that the willingness to defend the country is like over 80% or so now - or if that video was before Ukraine war, it was bit over 75% if I don't remember wrong. The thing is, that it's seen as a duty and honor in a way an absolute benefit once you start looking for work, but even while studying cause you may have learned skills to compensate some study credits. There is certain to have been some few who served in each family. Some elder who served in the war. And some who just went through the service, as it's less likely to take the other path. So - it is literally grind into our very view of the world - indeed Russia is next door - and there is a need for certain number of men and women with the skills to maintain credible defense capabilities. The whole idea that large numbers of people would not understand that is absurd.