Skip to main content

Military readiness during a pandemic: Finnish local defense exercises 2021

 

Readiness battalion with their CV9030 (Photo: FDF)


The Finnish Defense Forces have put an extra effort to increasing their readiness and capability to counter surprising threats after the Russian invasion of Crimea. This has been possible as the focus of the FDF has remained in the defense of the Finnish territory against the Russian threat and unlike the rest of the European armed forces it still maintains a reserve based army geared for high intensity warfare.

 

Note the environmentally friendly wooden bullets in use (Photo:FDF)

Recent report from the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI) suggests that Russia still has an edge over the NATO forces in Eastern Europe. The Russian forces have the advantage of better strategic mobility, faster chain of command and superior numbers in land combat. This disparity increases the risks of a military conflict in Northern Europe. The FOI estimates that the Finnish and Swedish effort in a fight against a Russian offensive in the Baltic's would be crucial and that Russia would take action, either by using conventional forces or threats of a nuclear strike to intimidate Finland and Sweden.

The second part of the FOI report focuses on the European forces and their capabilities. It lists the Finnish combat readiness in the following table:


The amount of forces available at short notice has increased during the past five years. I have covered the changes in the Finnish force structure and training in my previous articles:

http://blog.vantagepointnorth.net/2019/09/countering-hybrid-war-2019.html

https://blog.vantagepointnorth.net/2017/09/countering-hybrid-warthe-finnish-way.html


The latest round of local defense exercises was held in the middle of the Covid19 pandemic. The Defense Forces have had strict and very successful measures in place to combat the spread of the infection. Conscript units have been compartmentalized into smaller units with rotating shifts in the woods, on barracks and on vacation.

 

The five local defense exercises that were held in the winter of 2021 were:

Lapland and North Ostrobothnia 2021

Exercise time:  26.2.-5.3.2021

Exercise area: North Ostrobothnia, Lapland (Oulu, Rovaniemi, Sodankylä, Ivalo)

Number of troops: c. 1,200 personnel

Number of vehicles: c. 250 vehicles

Participating authorities: Police, Finnish Border Guard, Rescue Department, North Ostrobothnia Hospital District, Kainuu Social Welfare and Health District, North Finland Regional State Administrative Agency, Lapland Regional State Administrative Agency, Customs, Judiciary, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and Environment

 

Kehä 2021

Exercise time: 6.-11.3.2021

Exercise area: Capital city area; Helsinki and East Uusimaa, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

Number of troops: c. 750 personnel

Number of vehicles: c. 150 vehicles

Participating authorities: East Uusimaa Police, Helsinki Rescue Department, Finnish Border Guard

 

Salo 2021

Exercise time: 8-12.3.2021

Exercise area: Säkylä, Salo, Oripää, Kemiönsaari/Säkylä Garrison, Oripää Airfield and Kiikala Airfield

Number of troops: c. 700 personnel

Participating authorities: Southwest Finland Police, Southwest Finland Rescue Department, West Finland Cost Guard District, (Southwest Finland Hospital District)

 

Pirkanmaa 2021

Exercise time: 8. - 12.3.2021

Exercise area: Pirkanmaa / Kanta-Häme

Number of troops: c. 820 personnel

Number of vehicles and of armoured vehicles: tens of vehicles

Participating authorities: Police, Rescue Department, Tampere City

 

Kymi 2021

Exercise time: 8.-11.3.2021

Exercise area: Region of Kouvola

Number of troops: c. 1,000 personnel

 

All these exercises focus on co-operation between authorities and rapid reaction to localized threats. So, let us take a closer look at one of them, the Kymi 2021 hosted by the Karelian Brigade in Kouvola.

The exercise begun with the mobilization of the readiness battalion of the Karelian Brigade and the reservists of the local defense units based in the Kymenlaakso region. These units then linked up with local police and Border Guard forces to establish a common situational awareness. After gearing up the units deployed into the region, taking control of the pre-planned control points. Units then used the local resources to maintain their combat readiness.

 

a CV9030 Commander of the Readiness battalion 

On the second phase of the exercise the Army forces responded to an enemy military incursion into Finnish territory, that was detected and delayed by the Border Guard forces. The mechanized readiness battalion then linked up with the Border Guards and conducted a counterattack in order to destroy or push pack the hostile forces.

The force structure of the Finnish readiness and local units, when combined with the other authorities and Special Forces enables a very wide range of options to deal with threats that may emerge. Units can be used as disaster relief or security forces or to conduct high intensity offensive operations backed by organic armor and heavy artillery.


The Finnish Air Force provided support for the troops with their F/A-18C/D Hornets


Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

  2. Actually, I know about this because my cousin is from the army. Of course, it is not an easy thing such as creating an assignment is not an easy thing which is why many students prefer to create online like I get my work from list of dissertation topics in nursing service. Now, this is a very helpful and common thing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The military readiness of Finland in the event of a pandemic emphasizes how crucial local defense capabilities are. Strong civil-military collaboration and a ready reserve are the cornerstones of the Finnish approach, which guarantees national security even in the face of emergencies like pandemics. Local defense forces protect vital infrastructure and communities while ensuring operational continuity and quickly responding to health emergencies.Regards, I've been looking for information on this lately, and yours is the best.
    New York Marriage Laws Divorce

    ReplyDelete
  4. va nursing home abuse lawyer
    On the off chance that you really want a Virginia nursing home maltreatment legal counselor, search for a lawyer experienced in senior regulation and individual injury cases. A gifted legal counselor can assist families with seeking after equity for friends and family experiencing disregard, misuse, or abuse in nursing homes. They can direct you through legitimate choices, whether it's arranging settlements or seeking after a claim. Check neighborhood law offices gaining practical experience in senior maltreatment, and read surveys to find a merciful and learned lawyer who will battle to safeguard your cherished one's privileges.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quick guide to identifying the Russian tanks Part 1: Updated Dec. 2021

  As most of the western nations have reduced their inventories to a few or mostly one type of main battle tank model in their active inventories, the myriad of tank platforms and distinct versions employed by the Russian armed forces may feel overwhelming. Here is a quick guide to identifying Russian MBTs. When you come across an image (or the actual thing), follow the steps to identify it properly. Updated 15.12.2021: T-90 modifications Family of the tank Russian Armed Forces currently operates, or at least storage, the following tank platforms/families: -            T-55 (<2000 in storage) -            T-62 (2000 in storage) -            T-64 (2000 in storage) -            T-72 (2000 active duty, 8000 in storage) -            T-80 (2000 active duty, 5000 in storage) -            T-90 (350 active duty, 600  in storage) -            T-14 (20 in field testing) So how can you identify what type of a tank are you looking at? There are two features that can be used to distinguishing th

The Russian ”Tank Circus”

The Russian media has published several articles about the latest round of live fire drills by the Russian tank forces. The first brief mentions caught my attention as they described a new tank tactic based on the experiences of the Russian expeditionary force in Syria.  T-72B1 at Pogonovo (Photo: © RIA Novosti / Andrey Stanavov) The details about the new tactic were scarce but there were mentions of continuous movement and a steady barrage of main gun fire. On 4th of July, the RIA published an in depth article about the 20th combined Arms Army’s field training of the new tactics (Translated to English by Sputnik ) The “Tank Carousel” is simply a drill in which a tanks of a formation, be it a platoon or a company, move around a set perimeter firing the from vantage points or openings in a berm and then move off to safety while another one moves in to the same spot to fire.  This does allow the unit to maintain sustained 125 mm tank gun fire at a target area. Another

Russian Airborne Forces To Go Wheeled

The light weight tracked IFV:s of the BMD-series have been the mainstay of the Russian airborne forces, the VDV, for decades. Several new BMD-variants are currently under development. But the vehicle that is going to be  introduced  to service first is breaking the pattern.  K-4386 Typhoon-VDV (Photo: Vitaly V, Kuzmin) The K-4386 Typhoon-VDV is a wheeled 4x4 armored car, that can be armed with a variety of weapon systems. The base model is a formidable IFV that will have a remote-controlled turret with a 30 mm 2A42 automatic cannon and a coaxial 7.62mm PKT machine gun. But what really sets the VDV variant apart from most of the other MRAP:s is its ability to be parachuted from Russian transport aircraft. Drivers station of the  K-4386 Typhoon-VDV (photo: Nikita Grigoriev, Mil.Today)  The Typhoon “ family ” of Russian mine resistant vehicles has been adopted by the various military branches and security services in Russia. The vehicles are manufactured by both KamAZ and