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Conscription, yes. It will build strong men and destroy the beta and soy boys. It will teach them the positive attributes that may be called "toxic" but in actuality they can be used in a positive way. Plus it's only half a year, and you can choose to fully enlist if you choose.
Sir, can you do a video about the Swiss Armed Forces? We also have conscript-based military service. 98% of our personnel are in the active reserve and not career military. I'd like to know what a US marine thinks about us and our training.
you asked at 16:10 they are at the shootting range and they just cleaned their rifles and the rifles are being inspected aka did the conscripts clean them good enought
@@namethatisnottakenyo it's more likely to become voluntary for men, rather than involuntary for women, if the situation proceeds to go as it have been going
Conscripts aren’t looked down upon. We don’t really have any professional troops other than some special forces. So conscripts and reservists make up the most part of the defence forces. Women are not required to do military service, however, they can do it voluntarily as mentioned in the video.
We got professional troops, the men who are training the conscripts and those thousands who serve as peacekeepers every year and the cadets, not a large amount but we still got professional troops 😀
Also, all professionals actually start as Conscripts. So they have their 6-12 months military service and then they can either sign up or apply to higher education such as Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu (to my understanding an equivalent of West Point in US).
@@JimS47 while it is a form of service, it's an inherent civic duty, so it sounds very odd to a Finn to be thanked for it. Many find it a fun and fulfilling time and even those who don't mostly feel "I did my job and it's done with." We venerate those who are actually called into service and have to make sacrifices though.
@Young Fatty Well they're weaker on average so if you're going to pick a population its going to have to be the blokes. Unless you plan on spending millions on fitness testing only to end up with a similar distribution. We also don't need everyone, and it costs money to train soldiers. Since you're not one of us 'idiots' how do YOU propose to defend your country?
"Right" or "duty" to serve doesn't really describe the general attitude in Finland. It's more just a part of a man's life. When they turn 18, they take up an RK and leave home for half a year. It's just a thing that happens. Some enjoy it, some don't, and nowadays you might even call it voluntary, since you can more or less talk your way out of it. But "ty for your service" or anything else is bs in Finland. Everyone serves, there's nothing special about it. Sergeant, Security Team Leader, Finnish Air Forces
@@roskcity before service they call all dudes in an area to a place like a sports center and evaluate them. Then when they call you up can say something along the lines of "I have mental issues". You can get freed from the service if you are obese, diabetic, asthmatic or have mental illnesses. "I have a rash makes it difficult for traveling in forests etc." One of my friends got out of duty because he is literally half blind, no vision in left eye. Other guy I know has weak knees and they dislocate very easily so he was absolved.
Fins and US armys difference is, that when you go in Finland ya know you are not send to other side of the world, we are just learning if war breaks how we will defend ourself.
I would add and stress: It is literally ILLEGAL to send Finnish Defence Forces to offensive war. Only legally authorized duties as per Act on Finnish Defence Forces are: 1) Military defense of Finland 2) Giving intra authority assistance to other Finnish government authorities 3) Participating in common defense of European union under Treaty on European Union Article 42.7 or under Treaty on Functioning of European Union Article 222 4) participating in peacekeeping and crisis management
@@aritakalo8011 Yup, but in practice some Finnish troops are right now in Afghanistan... Following the US example, we do not declare military operations abroad as wars, avoiding the question of legality ;)
@@IdiotPosterBoy Actually there are no Finnish troops currently deployed in anywhere in the world. Finnish army has only authority to operate on Finnish soil. You are talking about Finnish peacekeepers and compared to US army, rules of engagement are totally different. They are not a military unit, they are peacekeeping or crisis management unit, depending on mission. Comparing US army troops in active military operation to Finnish peacekeepers is just wrong. Why? Because for example every weapon fire made by Finnish peacekeepers is investigated and persons can be sentenced to jail if proper authorities judge that there was use of unnecessary force. Also rules of engagement strictly prohibit use of force unless it's used for self defence. That of course is rule governed and set by UN. All Finnish peacekeeping/crisis management units are trained by Finnish army and to qualify you need to have gone through conscript training, but that doesn't make them Finnish army troops. They are UN peacekeeping unit, not Finnish army unit and there is a big big difference.
@@IdiotPosterBoy Western (and eastern) troops are in Afghanistan on request and with the agreement of the Afghan government to fight the Taliban, who made it their project to stone men for listening to secular music, slaughter women who go see a doctor and to douse girls with battery acid if they visit a school. ISAF is very much not a war of aggression, but of defense of basic human rights and civility.
@@hobes9551 the Finnish troops in Afghanistan are *not* UN peacekeeper troops (which is pretty much what anyone would think of when you mention of peacekeepers). They were a part of the NATO-lef ISAF troops and now a part of the Operation Resolute Support, which are definitely not operating under the peacekeeper standards.
In Finland you are asked where you would prefer to specialize in, but most of the time you'll be put in where the higher ups think you fit the best: I'm a mechanic for my civil education → mechanic in the military.
I had my call-up bit over a week ago ago and for me it was basically them asking where I want to go and I said x so they put me in x, it seems that most of us spent 3 minutes tops in front of the board where that's chosen, Corona made the event very unusual this year I heard.
@@420cactusgaming7 yea that is the location of the garrison you are going. After the 8 week basic training you have a choise (i quess depending on garrison) what you want to specialize in. I chose military police for example :)
Q1: No, the officers of Finnish Military do not look down upon the conscripts as at one time they were also conscripts. Q2: From 2008 on wards Finnish Defense Forces have used classification T. This is a classification given to person who are relieved from conscription service on other grounds than medical reasons. Every year about 20k men between the ages 18-29 are trained by the Finnish Military. T Classification was given to 50 individuals (who are a danger to themselves and/or others on other grounds than medical reasons) between the years of 2008 and 2012. I am not sure about the current number, but I think it is somewhere between 100 and 150 (from implementation in 2008 to this day). Q3: No. Women's conscription is still completely voluntary. Q4: Conscription does not, in my opinion, does not suit US. Maybe The French Foreign Legion of sorts... and that's a big MAYBE! Q5: If you are an engineer, doctor or have any kind of a profession when do your service. You most likely do something related to that. But you can express interest and/or apply to a special school in advance (combat diver/air force pilot/paratrooper). I told to my conscription board where I wanted to go (Pori Brigade in Säkylä) and the unit (Anti-Tank Company) there. That is what I got. Q6: I would say about 80 to 90% of the personnel in these videos are conscripts. What you call "regular military are practically 80% officers, 15% NCO's and 5% civilians. Q7: They are looking down the barrel after cleaning them after shooting practice on the range. You are correct, there is no gas tube, piston, bolt, recoil spring or the top cover on those rifles (Finnish AK variant Valmet RK-62). Q8: Basic training for all is a great idea... Q9: Rynnäkkökivääri = Assault Rifle Q10: Basic grunt, communication specialist, etc. is 90% "You are going to do this, 10% I want to do this (if the training cadre cares about your opinion)." Conscription works and it does not work.... countries with fewer people (like Finland) it is practically the only option. Countries with huge populations (like USA), it would turn military services into an absolute shit show. PS. Hope you understand which questions I tried to answer in my answers. I'm happy to expand and explain in more detail my thoughts. 1st Lt, Anti-Tank Platoon Leader, Finnish Army Reserves.
I'm from the United States and was not in the military, I was a police officer until I was medically retired in 2005. Thank You for your service to your country.
Re Q7: Looks like the officer is inspecting that the barrel and the bolt have been cleaned off the gun oil before starting the shooting. But obviously, the process is the same when checking that the barrel has been cleaned properly after the shooting.
I think if the country is to big for conscription to be an option an mandatory "service time" would be an option, having an population that has basic training in how to act if things go belly up and had to rub shoulders with all social classes is an major asset. Learning how to work together with people not of your choice alone is i think very important, if not the most important, at least how to tolerate other people you do not consider friend material. Does a lot for that "Civilised manners" thing. Does not need to be military or political at all, just some things that benefit the common good, putting some time aside to do things that not benefit one self. Call it the 101 of how to be an citizen year
As a Finnish woman who has been in the military, I'd like to see compulsory military service happen for females as well. Knowing how to defend your country is so important and in my opinion some women could use the mental experience of it. It would also be good for women to understand at least one tiny piece of what the older generations had to endure to fight for our independence.
@@mariharrik5987 Who's gonna take care of homes and the children while men are defending their country? Of course you wouldn't know that because you've never been in that situation.
I have lived in Canada since I was 15 but went back to complete my Finnish military service in 1992. It was not easy, but looking back it was a great experience. I was in the Marines on the south coast. I would recommend the experience for every young man and woman.
So you were in 1jk just after me. Btw it is "coastal jaegers" not marines. There was "laivaston kiväärimiehet" in Upiniemi which is more like marines. Coastal jaegers were much more guerilla warfare.
I'm a Norwegian citizen and we have conscription (mandatory military service, 12 months for both men and women), although the times are changing and we will probably replace it with a professional army akin to what the US has in the not so distant future. I served my 12 months in early 2000 and I think it was an important part of my path to adulthood. I learned many useful things during my service, one of the biggest was learning how to cooperate and live with two dozen complete strangers from every part of the country and from every social class. You're all the same when you're in the service, and I think that's healthy.
I'm also a Norwegian citizen, I did my 9 months in '96 in the army as an engineer. I was 21 or so, I cannot complain, it was a good experience. Then I got drafted in the home-guard. It was definitely not what I wanted. I was stuck with this for 23 years, but I did my effort, and I think the professional pathway is a better construct.
It is in the Finland constitution, that every citicen has a duty to defens theyr country. No matter what sex or age you are. But the military servise is mandatory only for men. Greetings from Finland, engineer corpral from 2002.
16:10 They´re checking the barrel for dirt. It´s a prosecure before shooting on the shooting range. The officer in command is doing a "routine check" at the beginning with questions about the rules and waepons check, so you´ll remember them for sure
U know u can get from word kauppa (shop) over 2253 different forms and i can say as i am finnish myself our language may be beatiful but it is full of shit that you wont need never in your life and if you're gonna ever visit finland (don't) all that you must know is : russia bad and swedish gay
I think because Our Grandfathers sacrificed everything for Our independence In ww2 that even today finnish men and women dont think its asking too much To serve Our country.
Definitely. People do bitch about it at the start but most people look back fondly after. Tho I can't rly say shit, cuz i got booted after 2 weeks since i was born with shitty legs. Genuinely felt shitty for not being able to complete it, i actually enjoyed it except the fact that i wanted to cut my legs off after training sessions.
@@GoldGalaxianFin my late big brother was "returned" because he wasn't healthy so it's bs to say all unhealthy guys are forced to do their duty till the end in this country.. He was about 190cm tall, weight around 150kg (zero of it muscle) + asthma. They sent him home pretty quickly, u can imagine. One can be owerweight in certain scale, doesn't automatically make one unhealthily fit for service..
@@GoldGalaxianFin sounds like to me you weren't even close to as overweight as my brother and depending on how you did in their eyes, not too unhealthy for service. So the unfit part might only be inside your own head not an actual case.
The FDF has over 100 years of experience with conscription already. Downtime is something that has been hotly debated in media and public discourse. Complaints about "too much downtime" has been repeated consistently throughout the decades and there is nowadays very little of that left. It's was quite an efficient education package already during my own time not too many years ago. Personally I hope they don't rationalize out too much of the traditions in the same go.
@@EggwardEgghands When I did my service it lasted for 8 months instead of six and there definitely was some downtime near the end. Basic training which took, IIRC, the same two months as it is now was busy and the specialization stage was quite busy as well. So IMHO I think the training is pretty much as good, shortening it by two months just cut off the slack.
^agreed. Although it's spaced so you might have one week out in the woods, followed by one week of physical trainings and then a week of just sitting at a class room going trough materials, so that conscripts don't burn out and get some time off the physical stress.
@@markopoutiainen7108 The reason they cut the shortest service time to 6 months in 90's was to cut costs and given the end of the cold war, there was reduced need for troops that can be deployed immediately. Same goes with cutting the couple weeks off from service times few years ago, last couple weeks of the service used to be pretty much hanging around in barracks if folks didn't have much of leave days left.
@@762rk95tp Yeah, but I think it doesn't do much harm. As I said, there was some quiet time at the end anyways so cutting the slack means there should really be no real effect on the results. I did 8 months in my time.
I have to say, i have asthma and in call-ups officers said i dont have to go, i disagreed, i went to service and went to signal corps, also i did go to nco school, got out as corporal and now days i'm active reservist 🤙 serving country because there is no other country like finland
Lucky fuck, i had knee problems and was recommended to not go by doctor and higher up that i talked to pretty much told me to fuck off... Here people with asthma were pretty much told not to go back then too because the local barracks were completely fucked with mold.
I’m a proud father of 2 boys now serving their duty in the Navy brigade. This is not only good for the boys to be men but also a chance to understand the importance of protecting your independence. Thank you for your great videos
I pray your kids just train and are not deployed to return changed forever. I sadly was too idealist. Volunteered in Syria. Had all war nonsense banged out of me. Torture, Aleppo gas attack by terrorists. Changed me forever. My nations treatment of me on return in 2014. Well is why since 6th September 2016 not lived in the UK now.
Suddenly I’m proud to be a finn how well education is handled here, such small country that we are and such respect for the men here who have to go thru army!
"Suddenly I’m proud to be a finn how well education is handled here, such small country" Finland isn't really a small country, it's one the largest countries in the world.
Or, as (Swedish actor) Peter Stormare's dim-witted character from the movie "Fargo" said, "Where's pancakes house?" . . . "We stop at pancakes house." . . . "I'm ****ing hungry now, you know!" I'm not sure if that scene took place on a Thursday, but then again, they weren't in Finland.
Military service has left good memories. For many guys it was first time away from mom’s cooking. You leave the military with lifelong memories and friends. I’d say 90% remember warmly about it in Finland. 🙂
I had shity attitude when going there but while spending time there i started enjoying it and when it finally was over i looked back and realised it was propably the best time of my life. I was 19 yo spent 5,5 month there (new friends, no worries about money or anything, just do your task and rest good, spend time in woods, test yourself almost in everything, how you can handle cold, how good are u at shooting, how good is your stamina, lot of laughs during the whole service.) and now 24yo can’t wait for military refresher.
Mine was awful my superior's lied about me plus bad cought because old barracks in Upinniemi and that resulted to me plea for c-papers I'm not proud of those papers but I saw it as only option.
I served one year in Finnish army when I was 18. I chose to go to special technical training included with NCO training. Its been 22 years since that service and I've been called back for more training every 2 years. I'm proud to to be ready to defend my country if shit hits the fan. Even though they got better and younger men :)
I serviced for 12 months. 10 years ago in Northen Finland. I was a military driver and got License to drive big trucks, semis and all kinds of vehicle combinations. Has been very useful afterwards.
@AlbertaStrength I do agree that it's the best system for Finland to use as of now, as a country with only 5,5 million residents. Also I think in a way it's an extended part of the educational system, since you learn a lot of useful skills that are not necessarily military related.
@AlbertaStrength Yes. It's the most cost efficient way to maintain a strong defence force and it teaches many useful things like composure in the face of high preassure, social skills, leadership skills, self-confidence and responsibility. It makes boys into men. Of course it's not without flaws, but it's a positive thing overall.
@AlbertaStrength I was counting days to get out and so did many of my friends. Still, very few people disagree with the conscription even they wouldn't enjoy it. It is what it is when you have a 1000km border with a great power that happens to attack it's smaller neighbours every now and then.
the Finnish Defence Forces do good job at aiding the young men to the next step in their life, for example FDF is the place where most of our truck drivers get their truck driving licence and end up as truck drivers in civilian life. and yes you have the option to choose where you end up serving, greetings from a Leopard 2A4 main battle tank mechanic. Some of the equipment in the video is outdated and we got newer equipment in use at the moment than those showing in the video.
Ristus Notta Aussie here, that first part is part of the reason why I love the idea of conscription, there are a lot of young men who are lost with what do do with themselves and/or had poor upbringings and as a result either become a drain or outright menace to society. I feel there are many who are doing it rough that service could turn out to be a life changing experience for. Additionally with China breathing down our neck I’d feel a lot more confident about my nations future if we had a population that had military experience.
@@vladimirpudin2796 After high school I was kinda secluded and lonely as I was never able to make friends there. But the military actually really helped me get back on track.
@@vladimirpudin2796 The idea of conscription is fine as long as it doesn't create a 2 teired system of citizens. Men who have no rights and have to serve and women who have rights and are given a choice. Also, Aussies isn't proper up by the EU so would be bloody expensive.
My time as a conscript was the greatest time of my life. A tightly packed set of training that made me completely consider the garrison as "home." I was in the AA assault recon platoon, had stuff going on almost 24/7, nightly recon missions and high alert during the days. I was already raised a disciplined kid with lots of erä skills (meaning knowledge of nature, hiking, bushcraft, fishing etc), but it felt like I learnt a helluva lot during my time in the Armored Brigade: Basic skills, logical thinking, prioritizing, self-discipline and resistance to constant pressure. When I went back to reserve, finished my studies and started working it felt like even most of my social skills were derived from the army times. Such a great school on a personal level, would recommend to everyone. Cures shyness, builds confidence and muscle, teaches you to laugh when all is lost and leaves damn precious memories.
There are still hidden stashes of old WW2 weapons that were used by the soldiers, volunteers and civilian fighters so they could quickly arm themselves if they needed to scramble and fight back soviet forces.
first assault rifle was "der Sturmgewehr" in Germany in WW2. Wehrmacht wanted something with more firepower that a submachine gun, so enter the cartridge 7,92 mm kurz, and the weapon that fired it. some were captured by the red army - enter the AK47, and the rest of the world followed through with all kinds of models
AquilaFasciata Really depends on the training. Do not forget, that also the brightest kids have to serve in a conscription military and the worst can be weeded out. Haven’t heard any complaints about the effectiveness of our conscripts in training excercises against professional militaries, including US Army and Marines.
Being a finnish conscript is a way different thing than being a drafted. For us old reservist still getting trained and having a placement in certain troops it is an honor. Honor to serve and honor to be ready. When I was in conscript service in my 20s, I didn't like it much cos' I didn't have the knowledge why I was put into that branch. After 18 years in reserve, my placement has changed couple of times, but now I know my part in this show and really love it. Every week I check my mail and wait for the next training order. Honor, duty, will ❤️
"Being a finnish conscript is a way different thing than being a drafted. " BS, in reality there's not much difference. The only difference is when it happens. Your idea of honor, seems to have honesty replaced with false pride.
@@mmestariit only looks the same if you're an idiot. The biggest difference is that in a conscription system, you are raised with the knowledge that if you are able bodied, you will be conscripted at some point, and the entire society around you understands this and is easily able to accommodate for it. It also has no expectations of overseas deployment, that's for professional soldiers. The draft is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT You are raised with a very vague idea that it's possible that you could be drafted, basically every adult male has the paperwork, but in reality there's been maybe 15 out of the last 100 years where there was a genuine risk of being drafted. And it is a risk because being drafted (as opposed to conscription) also includes the very real possibility of being deployed overseas, and usually in units with rapid low quality training. You could even avoid being deployed for several months if you enlisted right before you would have been drafted because enlisted training was significantly longer, and would likely put you in a higher skill and lower risk MOS. The American draft is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like Finnish conscription
I was UAV (drone) operator. It was separate training period. It was a 19-week specialization training to be applied for. It required an entrance examination: including a psychological test, a pressure endurance test and a physical Class A. My service lasted 347 days, of which I was about 50% in military exercises. Over 100 nights in nature:)
Guy from Finland here! Personally i think the military recruitment system in Finland is great. You can either go and serve your country or do one years worth of public works (hospital maintenance, eldery care etc.) Unless you are Female then it is all volunteered. Personally loved my service time at air forces (SatLsto 1/19 medic). Mostly all people enjoy their deploinment time. schedule is tight but good night time is 99% of the time at 22:00 p.m and wake up at 6:00 am so you'll get plenty off sleep time. For any future medics out there: Keep an open mind it isn't hard unless you make it hard.
@@JamesonsTravels Age limits are arbitrary, sure. But where else do you go with a conscription system? With half of our population coming to serve, there's no reasonable way to check how mature each and every individual is. We do tests, but there's a limit to how much multiple choice tests can filter out. In the end, we just have to draw an age line, and assume that anyone 18 years old has their stuff together. Finland actually got into a bit of trouble with the EU since in the past we allowed 17 year olds into military service. Those were considered child soldiers, and that broke some treaties we signed or something like that. I'm sure you'll agree that kids should play with Lego bricks instead of Kalashnikovs.
@@StoryTimeSA France, the UK and germany all take in 17 years olds if they have a written permit by their parents. If i`m informed right the uk even younger. Not a fan of the EU or any active conscription system. I`m for a voluntary system combined with privileges like weapons privileges, voting privileges, electing&election privileges, jobs by state privileges, the privilege to go to university and so on as well as other benefits.
I got C-papers (released from service in the peace time). I went to the garrison, as planned, at age of 21, but I have bad GAD+PTSD and other mental problems slapped onto that. I got to speak to social worker several times in the garrison, talked to my superiors and the doctor - I had the feeling they were authentically interested in my problems and wellbeing - I felt I was not being judged. The age of 21 was bad for me, overall, I was going to uni (which was put on hold for the time of service, VERY inconvenient), had these mental problems and my relationship with my girlfriend was going bad at home - situation was very hard for me overall back then. I felt they really cared for my wellbeing - hence they released me from service at that time. Now that I have 2 degrees and 6.5 years of business, HR, admin and leadership training from uni, also being IT and tech savvy, now at age of 27 (soon 28), I really feel like I would like to try again. Now I really would appreciate all the training and I feel the duty of defending my country, in case of possible attack. Perhaps I can still get into the army, change my status of "C-papers" and use my advanced degrees and work experience to be useful for our military. All my friends and all my relatives (some even fought in the wars of ww2 in Finland, utmost respect for those heroes), including my younger brother, went to military and when I hear their stories, I really feel kind of left out - like I missed something important I should have experienced. I never hated nor disliked the army/conscription. The situation at that moment in my life was bad. Now it is much better. I would like to try again, but I do not know if this is possible. And yes, I know and feel the burden of not doing my duty and service back at the time - even some shame. Hope this was interesting story/perspective for you.
Tää saattaa olla jo mennyttä tai siis ettei oo ajankohtaista enää. Mutta mahdollisesti muille jotka on nyt samassa tilanteessa niin, Esikuntaan vaan soittoa ja sopii että mitenkäs pääsis etenemään. Mä en usko että PV käännyttää yhtäkään halukasta ja motivoitunutta käsiparia pois ovelta ainakaan keskustelematta asiasta ensiksi. Suoraan PV:n palvelukseen voi tulla ikä hommia esteeksi mutta sitten varmasti ohjaavat reserviläistoiminnan piiriin missä pystyy oma ehtoisesti saamaan vähintään saman tasoisen peruskoulutuksen. Ehkä jopa sulle sopivammin räätälöidyn kurssi kokonaisuuden koska niitä koulutuksia ei olla suunniteltu 15.000 varusmiehelle vaan juuri kyseisille kurssilaiselle.
It teaches GENERATIONS to be disciplined and respectful and PROUD of their country. Something many unfortunately does NOT learn either at school or at home. As a Norwegian who were 1 year in the Air Force as a conscript I feel bad that the system of conscription really is not alive and well anymore. So few go through military service now..
Shit, here in the US there are classes in both College and High School that brainwash kids into thinking our flag is a sign of racism, white people, conservatism, and republicanism are all inherently racist, our Military is made up of horrible people, and police are always hunting to kill black people. I wish he had what Finland has. These pointless riots, and hate towards white people, the Military, and Law Enforcement would all be nonexistent.
@@young.angry.devildawg That’s because CONServatism & the Republicans ARE Racist, Fascist assholes!!! Their ruining our great Country, something we will not let happen!!!
@@LexPips If I was a neo-libertarian, I'd not be so different from a Nazi myself. We need conscription because of people like you, those who need discipline and training. You corporates love to destroy the poor and middle class, and you say you're for us and yet you hurt us. Get out of here, you're not a human being.
The term Assault Rifle became a thing in the 1940s when Germany developed the Sturmgeweher. The Finnish service rifle, designed in the 60s is called Rynnäkkökivääri 62 (RK62), that translates to Assault/Storm Rifle 62.
@@ffff-rd6zp can confirm. Didnt have personally one, i had 1st old RK62 then bit newer RK95TP after i was tranfered to mechanized unit but my basic training NCO in AA where i began had RK62M2 and it was in 7.62x39 still. Finnish army really isnt fan of smaller 5.56 or 5.45 rounds.
At young age i were in prison for over two years. I got release from army because i was in jail, but i went in to finnish army as a volunteer after release from prison. I got out of army as a corporal. Fun times😀
The specialized roles are picked by score: The conscripts "compete" during the basic training in various ranked areas. The one with the highest score gets to pick first, while the one with the least has to deal with what's left. However, if there is indication that you would fit a specific role, you will be steered torwards it.
I am currently serving in the finnish army as a part of my conscription. To answer one of the questions in the video about wheter you get to pick a role or you're put in one, it works like this: The army asks you a bunch of questions about your skillset, your fitness and your intrests. Then they try to put you in a position you'd fit in aswell as be interested in. But obviously army needs go first. Everyonr can't control the drones.
Wow, I guess the new program wasn't all talk since I don't remember being asked one thing but where I wanna serve and I said the exact battalion-level unit where I wanted to be and there I ended up too.
Finnish coastal jaeger; you will be commanded to clear the sea mines of Russia so that real Jaegers of Finland= Hakkapelitaat can enter into Russian soil and claim sovereign. This was just a scenario. Finland has arsenal and multiple options with skilled general like Mannerheim= it equals what? Total superiority!
@Vanja Soskic I think he means some people who would otherwise not choose to try out military, would therefore be forced to join, maybe finding that they love the job, regardless of pay.
@@123Sander1231 ironically, that’s actually how one would make the policy of conscription unpopular within a nation, at least in the US (e.g. The Vietnam War). If a nation’s goal is to invade other countries, then that nation should prefer volunteers to fill up their ranks; seeing as these are the men who actually want to get into a fight in their lives and they’ll be far less likely in combat to hesitate in pulling the trigger or missing their shots on purpose. If the nation simply wants to remain vigilant and provide some basic job training to citizens to help their military handle its everyday operations, then conscription would work just fine. However, the US already gets both of those with an all-volunteer force and it’s quite effective at it. The only advantage I can see that a conscripted system has over an all-volunteer system is that with the conscripted system the overall nation ends up with a more disciplined civilian population afterwards.
It most certainly will. In many of the professional military systems, those that would make the best soldiers don't end up choosing that career, as someone who would make a great soldier usually would make great all kinds of other things as well, so many of them never become soldiers as it isn't their first choice. Some people are just great at pretty much everything they choose to pursue, and most of them don't choose a military career.
When I was doing my service here in Finland, we had a US LTC visiting our hq and he was blown away from the fact that we can create our troops to be the level we need to be at in 6-12months what in the US you spent 3 years for. The structure of the training is so efficient and well designed.
I'm not Finnish. Without even knowing any details, my first guess would be: It's because of the education, isn't it? Finland has a hugely better education system, and it shows. Recruits would come with not just more knowledge but also a better work ethic. I would ALSO guess that the conception of training programs benefited from findings of actual modern learning theories, you know, SCIENCE. Again, I do not KNOW this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason.
@@thecheekychinaman6713 Yes, that is a good question. Defense of Finland itself has not been tested in this post-WW2 information age... HOWEVER the military doctrine itself HAS been tested. (What is meant: country with little depth of territory, small but well-educated population, mandatory military service for all/male citizens, good training, good up-to-date military tech, powerful diplomacy). Certain OTHER countries with cranky neighbors have tested this approach and it works very well: South Korea, Israel... Taiwan has not been at WAR but it would not exist if it wasn't for this. (Recently they ended conscription but other points remain true.) Any other examples?
@@lexprontera8325 you mentioned you're not finnish. I can tell you from first hand experience, most of the conscripts go for the 5.5 month training period (20% go for leadership, of which half go officer candidates). Of which two months is basic training. It's not enough to produce a combat ready deterrent. The other countries you just mentioned have significantly longer service periods (2 years for sk and Singapore, taiwan I'm not sure, israel is 2?). And out of those examples, only israel has recently shown some effective combat ability in action. South Korea has been attacked a few times via naval and artillery, with no infantry response. Applying education is fine, but if your troops haven't been exposed enough to combat conditions they'll be too shocked to apply their so called civilian skills. Doctrine is hence not shared with those examples.
I did my 6 months service as a first-recon, and that backbag weights about 50kg = 110lbs when you are on told to take C gear with you (A, B and C) and longest distance we had to carry it was 102km = 32,3 miles (2 days hiking trip)
@@tomi9562 It's not like you will be send overseas. It's not hard, it's not easy either... or at least it wasn't easy. No idea how it is today. When I went there I was sure I wouldn't be there for more than six months, but actually did 12. They didn't make me stay there, I liked it. At first of course I wasn't a fan, but at some point I was okay with it. Even thought of joining the UN forces... something I would never even consider these day.
@@MrAatami its just that, life would chanfe pretty hard for few months and im not used to get up early and almost imediatly go dling something physicsl for whole day. And that is whole new place.
The term "assault rifle" was actually coined by Adolf Hitler in 1944, to refer to the weapon we now know as the STG-44. In german it became known as Sturmgewehr 44 ("Storm rifle 44", as in storming/assaulting a position). Before that, the weapon was called the MP-43/MP-44 (Machine pistol/submachinegun), even though it was in fact a rifle, chambered for the new 7.92x33mm intermediate cartridge. It started out in 1942 as the "MKB-42" or "machine carbine 42", and Hitler decided that his arms manufacturers should focus on developing submachineguns instead of rifles, so he shut the project down. The designers obviously wanted to continue working on their project and defied Hitler's orders by just calling it a submachinegun. The rifle went out to troops on the eastern front to be field tested and the story goes that in a meeting with high officers, Hitler had asked them what they needed and so on, and they said "alot more of these new rifles!". "What new rifle?", Hitler is said to have asked. The cat was out of the bag then. But once he got to see the how effective it was, he actually liked it so much that he christened it the "Assault rifle", mostly for propaganda value.
You forgot the part where the mp43/44 was called a Sturmgewehr 44 because it was the first ever produced with selective fire and thus "deserved" a new name. Selective fire on a rifle nowadays identifies it as an assault rifle in many cases.
@@noodlebob5302 I think it's more so that the weapon set the standard for what we define as an assault rifle today: * Selective fire capability * Firing an intermediate cartridge The name "Sturmgewehr" was purely for propaganda value, whereas the original "Maschinenkarabiner" (Machine carbine) would've been more appropriate to refer to the type of weapon based purely on function. For example, the term "assault rifle" never stuck here in Sweden. The Swedish military calls the weapon type "Automatkarbin" (Automatic carbine, shortened to "AK" which has confused some people). Over in Finland however, in the Swedish-speaking parts and especially at the Nyland brigade where the Finnish coastal jaegers are trained (which is a Swedish-speaking regiment), they call it "Stormgevär", which is alot closer to the german "Sturmgewehr".
@@guzzoscorner Also; *Use of stamped metal parts, *High capacity removeable magazines. Now, we all know that not all use 'stamped metal parts', and it doesn't need to be all stamped parts. Although, most magazines, unless plastic, are stamped metal. AK Manufacturers use a lot of, or just some stamped metal Also, Officially, the AK-47 is the 2nd Assault Rifle ever manufactured.
@@noodlebob5302 true. But there was some changes added between mkb42 - mp43 The MKb 42(W) fired from a closed bolt and used a hammer firing system, while the MKb 42(H) fired from an open bolt and used a striker for firing. Both used a large amount of stamped parts to speed and simplify construction while keeping down costs. The parts were then riveted or spot welded together. In December 1940, a prototype rifle each from Haenel and Walther was tested by the HWA at Kummersdorf. Both designs were tested on the Eastern Front during 1942 and the Haenel design proved superior to Walther's MKb 42(W). The German Army ordered a number of changes be made to the MKb 42(H) and the designation for the new rifle was MP 43.
The term 'assault rifle' started in the German military near the end of WW2 when the MP-44 was renamed the Sturmgewehr-44. Assault rifle is a direct translation into English. That term might not be used in the US military, but it's definitely been used as a firearms term since 1944.
And the assault rifle term was also coined due to the invention of an intermediate medium powered rifle cartridge that created a distinct weapon class.
Yes, the Stg 44 formed a rough blueprint for the modern assault rifle. It's a weapon you can effectively & accurately use at distances way beyond 100 m while having the ability to fire at reasonable rates. At that stage, you had smg's, lmg's, mg's and rifles, however, nothing that packaged everything as well as an Stg 44.
You mentioned the possibility of having a French foreign type unit in the U.S to earn citizenship. I know my son born here in Canada has dual citizenship with Finland. He like many expats went to Finland to serve his conscription 8 years ago . He was based in Santahamina as a Guards Jaeger. He had a number of U.S , Brits, Australians, Canadians in this unit. All the officers would converse initially in English but would quickly get the conscripts to learn command in Finnish. For expats the military Service ties together their citizenship and is important.
I served in Santahamina as well, some six years ago. We had people come in from all over the world. We had one Italian guy who didn't speak Finnish, but learned it so quickly he eventually became an NCO.
Guard's Jaeger regiment has a company that is colloquially known as "Muukalaislegioona" or Foreign Legion, that usually receives most expats (or anyone else with a foreign-sounding name even if they've been born in Finland and speak Finnish). I served in the MP company 10 years ago and we had 1 or 2 expats as well but they all spoke Finnish well.
My mother was born in Finland. I had never been there. Went for the adventure, never spoke the language. I was initially accidentally stationed at an artillery base in the country where few superiors spoke english but was transferred to the capital where English was more commonly known. I didn't receive all instructions but my squad translated what I needed to know and I was ultimately promoted to Korpraali. I participated in the national pentathlon competition and was selected for most fire demonstrations. If you try hard and show a willingness to learn, they embrace you. I would do it again if I could. I was in the anti-armour unit KRKK
Finland is prepared for all kind of emergencies, not just full war, but nature disasters, terror attacs etc. If you are working in a specific field, you most likely are listed as an emergency resouce in case of a national disaster. Even the Covid-19 means that in a worst case scenaario theese lists are utilized to keep people alive. As an electical engineer, I know that my professional knowledge is listed for power networks and telecom if needed. Doctors and nurses are listed for healtcare duties, truck drivers are driving heavy vehicles, etc. The civilian jobs are also one factor in choosing where you are going to end up in wartime. A small nation has to use its recouces smart, special knowledge is best used in special tasks.
Did my time in Signal Corps as NCO 01/2010 . Those days we served full year they've since shortened service time. Absolutely loved my time there. I lost 20kg of weight, gained great friends and learned leadership. From the start I aimed for NCO training and got in. I would say it was the best time of my life :) My father served in UNEF peace keeping force in late 80s after his conscription, so my family always had positive image of military service.
Finnish Conscript works because the structure is not based on "dismantling people" or hazing/bullying the conscripts, to "shape" them to certain mold of soldier. Instead it is designed so that everyone is set a bar which they need to cross and most of the time conscripts are designated on military roles where they have motivation/attributes to cross that bar. Example: my bunk mate was lazy to some degree and unmotivated for the service. So when Captain made evaluations for branch selections he told him, that he wanted to be headquarters drivers (Cab driver for staff personal). Captain said "naah, I think you want to be a military police" and the guy found hes correct bond to swim around and became exemplary MP sergeant. Officers/Sergeants who are training the new conscripts are still conscripts themselves and have really strict authority over lower ranking conscripts. (this I know since I almost received disciplinary actions myself, for overstepping a boundary) Best benefit for military service in my opinion is, that you have to get along and work with wide variety different people, you might be in some cases be stuck with same people for a year. Also when following orders/assignments you have to accept, that you cant do everything yourself and you really can't judge books by their cover. Often the people when looked upon make you wonder, "who tied your shoe lases today" Can be equally resourceful as everyone else when given a fair change. Best example I can come up from my time was this guy who saw world in 1 and 0 and just couldn't sleep without hes own special pillow. He even toke the pillow to camps in vacuum bag, we did joke around about it "just wait till we hide beans under your mattress", but after while we got used to it. What comes to hes performance, it wasn't top notch in any metric, but he got crossed the bar and got things done in hes own way and that's all what mattered to rest of us. My sergeant announced, that our teams motto was "never the last" which means, if you find yourself being the slowest member of the team, you wouldn't relax till you pushed and trained yourself to the point where you were second slowest. It was all the same if you were second slowest or the fastest in your team, all that mattered was not to be last, often the "last" guys didn't tend to stay last for long.
To me the difference is between being part of a self defense force that does catastrophe relief and an army that gets sent to fight and die wherever politicians decide. Finns get ready to defend their country. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori: It is sweet and fitting to die for your country. To serve as cannon fodder you need different training.
i have to agree that it Seems that most of the cadre officers who do the allocations know better what you want than yourself. For some reason i didnt get into any of the fun jobs , until after a certain time when they pushed me into a fun job they had obviously selected for me beforehand.
I got my orders to go to the army when I was 18. Best year of my life. I wanted to go and do my duty since I was a kid. I was a TOW gunner and loved it. I love my country and if necessary I will defend it. Greetings from Finland 🇫🇮 Ps. Your channel is awesome!👍
Prior to live shooting at range, they hold the weapon on their right shoulder and the bolt in their left hand. The one leading the shooting is checking the barrel and usually checks the bolt, this to reduce the risk of malfunction during shooting, malfunction could causes the exercise/practice to drag out time wise or end up in injury or damage to the rifle. They stand like that in front of their place.
Yeah checking if the conscripts actually cleaned their weapons after the order was given. I remember those who never liked to clean their gear and everyone got held up and they were not liked as much after. Safety is number 1 priority when dealing with firearms.
I'm Danish and have served 8 years so far in the Danish army, just want to let you know that all the nordic countries have conscription: Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. I agree that it does not hurt anyone to get conscripted, people learn alot about themselves and their country. I think the main reason to have conscription is probably because of the lack of manpower in smaller countries like the scandinavian. In the US manpower is probably not an issue. As always you another great video.
Thanks for the insight. I like the idea all the way around. At least some basics for starting life whether college or not. Problem here is we have so many SJW that it would never happen. It would become politial to score points on each side.
@@JamesonsTravels Yes, i agree on that. Guess some would argue it would take away peoples liberty or freedome of choice or something like that. There are alot of benefits for having conscripts. When I trained recruits alot didn't like it, but in the end all was glad that they got to do their military service. They learned alot about self-discipline, respect and to be a good citizen. Fun-fact, surprisingly many of those who didn't want to join the army, acutally end up applying to become professional soldier.
@@aleksi-mikaelkivela7354 Nope you are absolutely right. They got rid of it some years ago, but now they have reinstated it again. Mainly because of the detoriating relationship between Russia and Sweden.
@@johank9797 Also because they didn't get as many volounteers as expected during the years of professionals only (conscription had always been the only way in to becoming a professional soldier) and people in general wanted conscription to be reinstalled. I was a conscript in the Swedish Navy in 2001 and I liked it. After 12 months I really wanted back to do stuff in civilian life, but I never once regretted my one year of military service. Learned a lot!
Assault Rifle = Sturmgewehr, the first intermediate-caliber automatic rifle used by Germans since 1943. So yeah, it's a WW2 name. And in Finnish, it is indeed, word for word, "assault rifle". The US has some weird issues about "Assault weapons", because of legal shenanigans. But Assault Rifle is a perfectly understandable name for a type of gun. The M16/M4 is an assault rifle, whereas the M14 and FN FAL are battle rifles.
Military service is seen as a regular part of growing men's life. It's essentially given, that unless you have some serious reasons, you first finish your schools (from the elementary to HS-level), then serve your few months, then join the ranks of the society. While things are much more forgiving and people open-minded these days, you could say that those (men) who DON'T serve are actually looked down upon by the majority. Those women who have served tend to get silent "extra points" in the job interviews and social circles. No, women are not conscripted, and any kind of talk about "involuntary service" is pure BS this day and age; you literally got the right to refuse military service and do civilian service instead. Kids who absolutely don't wanna do their time usually don't end up wearing the uniform. Hell, lots of young folks who WANT to serve but cannot join in, be it because being obese, having diabetes... etc The experience gained in the boots is highly respected in the civilian life, and vise versa. Folks who want to be a doctor or nurse tend to apply for medic tasks. serving as a truck-driver used to be the easiest and cheapest way to get a civilian driving license for semitrailers, future pilots prolly go to air-force and cops most likely start as MPs... etc. All in all, FDF is like a part of the society itself, because in the end its the people themselves defending the nation when SHTF. Besides getting drunk, sharing your "army stories" is arguably the fastest way to break the ice with the Finns. And no, there is no "regular military", just one Finnish Defense Forces. Even the most high-ranked generals started off as greenhorn conscripts way back in the day, and volunteered for military life afterwards.
@@thawtianajawnson30 What are they going to make all the women do? I get it in principle but having a bunch of men who don't want to be there is bad enough imagine having loads of women with zero interest in doing service.
@@nutyyyy honestly, if you REALLY don't want to be in the boots, nothing's stopping you from leaving and doing the civilian service instead. Conscripting "everyone" is maybe too much, but the call-ins should by all means include both sexes these days. Especially in the modern times, the military service and -life consists of much more than just crawling around with a rifle. There's a wide variety of different sort of tasks and jobs that need to be taken care of, from logistics to literal 3D modeling simulator assets. Many of the taught skills also may help you in the civilian life afterwards.
Here are some additional details and probably a bunch more: Every single day spent at the garrison is scheduled, usually with total 8 hours of active "service" per day, be it training or just general work, such as equipment maintenance following an exercise. The entire service is just training until the very end when you're moved into reserve as a trained war-time unit. Basically conscript service in its entirety is the training period. The actual active career soldiers are generally the people in higher positions of leadership, acting as senior instructors or unit commanders (so called "staff" personnnel for conscripts), running the conscript training and service. War-time forces (280 000 personnel at a time) consist almost exclusively of reservists (900 000 in total), with usually only one active duty guy (the company/battery chief) per unit. Thus there are no real active duty forces alongside the conscripts/reservists apart from few small exceptions. Since 2017 there are also the so called readiness units, though. These also consist of conscripts (and a handful of staff in equal duties), usually chosen for it based on their performance during basic training. They serve 6 months normally with everyone else and _then_ serve another 6 months on readiness duty in the readiness unit, while receiving additional training not only limited to their own weapon branch. Readiness units are basically quick/first response units with the know-how and equipment of virtually all weapon branches in a single company sized package. This was Finland's direct response to the events in Ukraine as a measure against hybrid warfare, as well as to cover the "ghost weeks" when there are only minimal active forces at garrisons due to the old batch having finished their service but the new batch not yet having started theirs. To become an active career soldier you must complete your conscript service as a leader, after which you can stick around to work as an instructor (conscript leaders usually do most of the actual instructor duties during active training sessions), or if you wish to become an officer, go to the national defence university to study for 3 years as a cadet to graduate as a lieutenant. Basically finnish cadets have all already completed 347 day military service as a leader, as that is a requirement for the university. Conscript leaders receive training at the NCO and reserve officer schools, but what follows this period is 5.5 months of acting as a leader, leading and training the recruits of the next branch as they start their service. This "leadership period" is considered the actual true training that the NCO or reserve officer school merely offered a foundation for. Conscript corporals and officer candidates lead the recruits/privates of the next batch essentially running the unit's daily life and usually performing most of the training sessions. You get a lot of independence and responsibility as a conscript leader. Finnish corporals are almost exclusively either squad leaders or platoon deputy leaders (normally you become a sergeant in the case of the latter), while officer candidates are generally platoon leaders. Officer candidates are promoted to 2nd lieutenants in reserve on their very last day of service. Privates may also be promoted to private 1st class ("korpraali") if they perform well, which essentially makes them squad deputy leaders. The highest rank you can reach without additional NCO school type course is corporal. Conscript NCOs can reach any NCO rank in reserve, while reserve officers can reach the rank of a major at most. Promotions in reserve require 10 additional days of refresher exercise days under your belt, as well as a minimum of 4 years since your last promotion. Even then its not automatic and you have to be recommended for it by your CO. Reserve ranks are equal to active ranks (res lt who merely did conscript service and was promoted in reserve is equal to an active lieutenant who studied 3 years for it), ever since marshal Mannerheim made it so as a reward to finnish reservists for their performance during the winter war.
16:06 We dismantle our rifles before every shooting exercise, they check that all the parts are functional & clean to prevent any accidents from happening. In this particular moment she is checking the rifle´s barrel to make sure it´s clean and there´s nothing stuck in there.
I have to say that I really enjoyed my stay at the military. At the first when I was at the call-up, I insisted that I didnt want to go to signal company. But there I was, cos I was an electrician. But anyway, learned a lot of all the different skills and found out that I am capable of performing pretty well even when I've had only a few hours of sleep for a long time of period. Overall it was good and proud to say, that we have this kind of military.
Me too. I was serving from 1988 to 1989 as a radio guerrilla (is that an accurate translation for "sissiradisti"?) and that was a really good time. My son is now serving in Tikkakoski and he has something like 140 mornings left :)
It was extremely effective, during the start of WW2 they were one of the most well prepared nations for war, even more so than the UK and France for conflict.
It makes absolutely perfect sense to train all your nation in the Military lifestyle. It will teach them discipline, respect, a trade and patriotism. A lot of countries in the world do this. I would 100% support this for youth coming out of high school.
There is one benefit over conscript. As by law military test and trains "everyone", so they can also pick and choose best of best. As in drafting you have only what you get.
@15:54 they are on shooting range. After the shooting is done, you are commanded to dismantle the rifle, clean the trigger-base and pipe of the rifle. After you are done with that task, its been shown to the commanding officer and you can pack your gears. All this is pretty much for safety- and weapon caretaking reasons.
My 362 days in Finnish Defence Forces, was the best days of my life, afterwards!! Usually it was total nightmare, but nw almost 20 years later it was really good time!
I have mixed feelings on conscription here in the States. On one hand, it would be beneficial for teaching people valuable lessons they can take with them for life. On the other hand, I served with some guys who just didn't want to be there, for whatever reasons, and they where a drain on moral and had the tendency to be disruptive.
Plus, we have something like 3.5 million people turn 18 every year. The entire population of Finland is 5.5 million. Even if we only took 1 million conscripts per year we'd need almost WWII levels of mobilization to train that many people. It's not worth the drawbacks.
Maybe not military service but some sort of government service. Like 2 years working as a mail carrier or as a clerk at the DMV or something. Give people some job experience outside of flipping burgers or waiting tables.
@@TheA.K. What? You'd make room for logistical nightmares, maybe certain natural disasters *cough hurricanes cough* wouldn't be such a problem if you had people trained in that?
Actually us conscripts and reservists look down upon the professionals since they apparently were such slow learners a year wasn't enough for them to figure it out. ;)
I thought reservist had more spunk. They could do their civilian jobs and bring those skills in the reserves which came in very handy in the field. Many were going to college too. Active duty seemed angry that they signed up and were treated like shit 24/7 in the USMC. Reservist in the usmc didn't burn out with all the BS. Active duty were jealous of reservist. (My view) My honorable discharge came from the Marine Corps just like theirs. I fulfilled my contract. And I've had plenty of jobs because of that discharge.
@@EnjoyCocaColaLight alot of active duty Marines went into reserves. Alot of combat veterans stay in reserves. Reservist go to war. I did both active and reserves. Discharge comes from the IRR which are generally in the reserves. 4th Marine division is the biggest division in the Marines. Just saying. Also in WW2, 70% of the Marine Corps were reservist. 88% Navy were reservist. 3 of the Iwo Jima flag raisers including Ira Hayes were reservist. Pappy Boyington was a reservist. Lee Marvin a reservist. People honestly get a misconception about the reserves. Discharges come from the Marine Corps alike. So why do you laugh? What's so funny?.
@@comm2531 Reservists in here are usually very motivated to get back to service for a little while and leave normal civilian life behind. Professional soldiers(instructors) also give a lot of responsibility to reserve officers to lead their units on their own(which makes sense because this is main goal before moving to reserve) Also if reservists have to spend some time at the garrison, certain small rules are ignored. For example as a conscript you get absolutely yelled at if you fail to salute or nod(depending if you walked across this person indoors or outdoors) to anyone who has higher rank than you do and you are usually required to walk back and do it properly. Nobody really expects reservists to follow these same rules because everybody from instructors to reservists know we are not going to be there for long but we surely know what our task is so we don't need any extra bs.
@@macgyver112 let me get this straight. Everyone in Finland has mandatory service correct? And these are called conscripts correct? In the U.S. We called conscripts draftees during ww2, Korea, Vietnam wars. But draftees were drafted for 2 years of active duty service maybe depending on branch of service. Are all your conscripts reservist? What is the total obligated time required in military service? Our military is a volunteer force. You can either sign up in the reserves or on active duty but today when you go into military service regardless of active or reserves, theyve got you for 8 years of total military obligation. Depending on which contract you sign. For instance can be 4 × 4, (4 active 4 reserves) or (4 active 4 IRR or individual ready reserve). (8 straight active or reserves) either way they equate to giving Uncle Sam 8 years No matter how you sign the contract.. Note that times have changed. When I was in service it went by a six years total obligated service. Now it's been bumped up to 8 years probably 30 years ago. We haven't had conscripted service since Vietnam war in the U.S..
When every man have to do some military training like here in Finland, the best thing about it IS that all of us are equal. When you have your military uniform on, If you have money or If you don't, it doesn't matter. Poor or rich, it doesn't matter. It is all about how well you do your military service and how well you get along with others.
In Australia we have a “gap year” program for high school graduates. It’s a voluntary year of military training and service for the person to gain skills and help them decide what they want to do after high school. Yeh they encourage them to go full time. But it also helps them get an idea of what they want after school ends.
Most nordic countries have or have had their defense forces based on conscripts. Mandatory military service plays a big part in building a united society. Through military service youngsters learn how to function in a group and it also serves to identify each solder in a group on a national level. Every one who has served will have one common experience wich greatly helps to establish some sort of national identity. In school you learn theory, in mandatory military service you learn life skills. I’m glad Sweden has reintroduced conscription!
Norway and Sweden have a LOT of territory to cover with a limited amount of people. Especially Norway with most of the country being steep (and narrow) mountain valleys combined with countless fjords.
Consription teaches you respect for authorities, dicipline and feeling of unity. Something everyone would need for their adult life. I served as eod specialist in Finnish army. Dicipline is strong, but your officers still respect you for your effort for the bigger picture.
In my opinion it's the other way around. A peoples strong respert for authorities and sense of unity means conscription is a good idea. Suomessa on historiallisista syistä luotto viranomaisiin ja vahva yhteenkuuluvuuden tunne. Ilman näitä asevelvollisuudesta ei tulisi mitään kun kaikki niskuroisi ja kukaan ei jaksaisi intissä rääkätä itseänsä kun kukaan muukaan ei jaksa. Mielestäni tämä on yksi niistä syistä miksi esim usassa ei ole asevelvollisuutta kun niin moni suhtautuisi siihen niin negatiivisesti.
I was in the Finnish military for 1 year and I became the truck driver I wanted to be. in the Finnish military, see them in your education and what knowledge you have and then you are put in the role that suits you best. Greetings a corporal
My Granddaughter is dual US/Norwegian citizen age 20 and was drafted into the Norwegian Navy and then recruited into the Norwegian version of the Coast Guard. Awesome program. It was only 80 years ago they were invaded by the Nazi's, they learned from that experience.
Rangers and recon teams carry a pack of +100 pounds depending on special training. They move mainly on foot so they can travel hundreds of miles between missions. They also move longer distances on helicopters and on trucks. They also most of the time walk +100 miles in training between missions. Also they are self dependant so they can hunt their own food and order ammo drops and stay on a mission for a long time.
I believe we crossed or are about to cross the 10000 women trained for the reserve this year. What I saw: its a while ago but they're were well motivated. Don't mind a bit serving with women, if you call pull your fair share you are more than welcome in my books.
Finland actually doesn't have a regular full-time military in the same sense as many other countries such as the US, UK, Canada, etc. The FDF has a relatively small cadre of full-time officers and NCOs. The enlisted personnel are all conscripts. During a crisis the military would be mobilized to its full strength by calling up the reservists. All in all, great videos! -greetings from a Finnish Army reservist.
It is an honor to serve our country and a we take pride in it. I know some people view soldiers in a negative light in some countries but from my own experience that is the exact opposite in Finland.
16:00 The video probably shows here the first time the new conscripts are going to shoot with live ammunition. The instructors will check the barrel of every rifle before they can be loaded with ammo because the rifles have been previously teared down and cleaned by the conscripts and there could be foreign objects in the barrel or some other risk. Finnish Defence Forces tries to make the training absolutely safe even when live ammunition is used.
Few things about our Finnish conscript: 1) As a man, you must do your military service at 18 yo or few years later. It can be real service, civil service or you might get C-papers (Relieved from service during the peace time). 2) Women still can do military service as volunteers but currently Finnish Department of Defense is thinking about putting womens into conscript too. No matter which one gender you are, you must be mentally and physically qualified to join in service. Doesn't matter do you have some short of criminal background, they still got some usage for you. Defending the country is Right because Russia is showing much more aggressive behaviour against European countries and is trying to rewrite the historical timeline since WW2. Compared to Russia, and remembering the Russian invasions of Krim, Finland is small country so every man and woman in Service makes a count.
@Vanja Soskic you don't get paid much, but you get a lot of perks such as fully paid rent, paternity leaves etc. Food, clothes and roof on top of your head are free of course too. You don't really do it for money. It's more like a duty you need to fulfill.
We had the whole training schedule pinned to a notification board from day one, where you could see all the exercices we had. Only the last few days were not action packed, it really is very efficient. Also, the thing where they had half a rifle on their shoulder, thats how they check your weapon before firing drills. You take it apart and hold the rifle backwards on your right shoulder and your bolt over the left one, the instructor inspects them and either points out what needs cleaning or tells you to put it back together
I did my dyty in Finland as a finn. One year, training to do, what my great grandfather survived. Train was rough enough to learn, that war is hell. That's the point: Prepare what you wish not to have.
The barrel inspection is a safety measure to check there are no obstructions in the barrel and also to spot wear/warp which might affect accuracy since they've been pulled from storage couple weeks ago. After the zeroing the sights and the shooting training the chambers are checked by the officer in charge. This is also a safety measure which is mandatory to perform after every range visit with the conscrips. Had the pleasure to receive antitank training with four different weapon systems. 1st ltn NCO squad leader.
I have been telling people for years that an American Foreign Legion would be a great fix for the immigration issue. Great Minds!! Highly recommend a trip to Finland. You won’t regret it.
There's no mandatory military service as a part of mandatory conscript service but you're transferred directly to reserve after the boot camp and training and "final war" excercise is complete. You can opt to apply for military service / active duty as a job after your conscript service but that's just a job among others.
What do you think of this video ua-cam.com/video/gOhwHr8y_Io/v-deo.html Finland wargames? Please stop by JT Clips for video replies to comments and clips (new channel) - bit.ly/3nh2Srh.
Now you have 3 channels in total. Nice
Man i have to disapoint you but women doesn't still have to go army i am from Finland myself
Conscription, yes. It will build strong men and destroy the beta and soy boys. It will teach them the positive attributes that may be called "toxic" but in actuality they can be used in a positive way. Plus it's only half a year, and you can choose to fully enlist if you choose.
Sir, can you do a video about the Swiss Armed Forces? We also have conscript-based military service. 98% of our personnel are in the active reserve and not career military. I'd like to know what a US marine thinks about us and our training.
you asked at 16:10 they are at the shootting range and they just cleaned their rifles and the rifles are being inspected aka did the conscripts clean them good enought
Nope, its still a voluntary thing for women to join the military
:D kappas vaan
@@SuperBasuuu katos, täällähän on tuttuja
Was about to comment the same.
Yes, we still don't hold equality in high enough regard to change it. :)
@@namethatisnottakenyo it's more likely to become voluntary for men, rather than involuntary for women, if the situation proceeds to go as it have been going
Conscripts aren’t looked down upon. We don’t really have any professional troops other than some special forces. So conscripts and reservists make up the most part of the defence forces.
Women are not required to do military service, however, they can do it voluntarily as mentioned in the video.
Max Westerlund
Very interesting thanks 👍
@Eugene Webber I agree.
We got professional troops, the men who are training the conscripts and those thousands who serve as peacekeepers every year and the cadets, not a large amount but we still got professional troops 😀
Also, all professionals actually start as Conscripts. So they have their 6-12 months military service and then they can either sign up or apply to higher education such as Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu (to my understanding an equivalent of West Point in US).
Mostly all professional troops are there just to train the conscripts. The whole system revolves around that.
As finnish 25 year old, i can say that first i hated being there but when it was about to end i wanted to stay.
Thank you for your service....from America.
@@JimS47 Ummh, what..???? It's more like experience, not like "service". It's only service, if we Finns go to war.
@@JimS47 while it is a form of service, it's an inherent civic duty, so it sounds very odd to a Finn to be thanked for it. Many find it a fun and fulfilling time and even those who don't mostly feel "I did my job and it's done with."
We venerate those who are actually called into service and have to make sacrifices though.
what's your point?
@Young Fatty Well they're weaker on average so if you're going to pick a population its going to have to be the blokes. Unless you plan on spending millions on fitness testing only to end up with a similar distribution. We also don't need everyone, and it costs money to train soldiers.
Since you're not one of us 'idiots' how do YOU propose to defend your country?
"Right" or "duty" to serve doesn't really describe the general attitude in Finland. It's more just a part of a man's life. When they turn 18, they take up an RK and leave home for half a year. It's just a thing that happens. Some enjoy it, some don't, and nowadays you might even call it voluntary, since you can more or less talk your way out of it. But "ty for your service" or anything else is bs in Finland. Everyone serves, there's nothing special about it.
Sergeant, Security Team Leader, Finnish Air Forces
Kyllähä ne siel vuodenki voi olla
@@iwnlseve7031 no ei jumalauta, voiha ne olla siellä vaikka kuinka kaua, usein vaan sen puol vuotta.
monet joutuu 9-12kk
Talk your way out of it?!
@@roskcity before service they call all dudes in an area to a place like a sports center and evaluate them. Then when they call you up can say something along the lines of "I have mental issues". You can get freed from the service if you are obese, diabetic, asthmatic or have mental illnesses. "I have a rash makes it difficult for traveling in forests etc." One of my friends got out of duty because he is literally half blind, no vision in left eye. Other guy I know has weak knees and they dislocate very easily so he was absolved.
Fins and US armys difference is, that when you go in Finland ya know you are not send to other side of the world, we are just learning if war breaks how we will defend ourself.
I would add and stress: It is literally ILLEGAL to send Finnish Defence Forces to offensive war. Only legally authorized duties as per Act on Finnish Defence Forces are:
1) Military defense of Finland
2) Giving intra authority assistance to other Finnish government authorities
3) Participating in common defense of European union under Treaty on European Union Article 42.7 or under Treaty on Functioning of European Union Article 222
4) participating in peacekeeping and crisis management
@@aritakalo8011 Yup, but in practice some Finnish troops are right now in Afghanistan... Following the US example, we do not declare military operations abroad as wars, avoiding the question of legality ;)
@@IdiotPosterBoy Actually there are no Finnish troops currently deployed in anywhere in the world. Finnish army has only authority to operate on Finnish soil. You are talking about Finnish peacekeepers and compared to US army, rules of engagement are totally different. They are not a military unit, they are peacekeeping or crisis management unit, depending on mission. Comparing US army troops in active military operation to Finnish peacekeepers is just wrong. Why? Because for example every weapon fire made by Finnish peacekeepers is investigated and persons can be sentenced to jail if proper authorities judge that there was use of unnecessary force. Also rules of engagement strictly prohibit use of force unless it's used for self defence. That of course is rule governed and set by UN. All Finnish peacekeeping/crisis management units are trained by Finnish army and to qualify you need to have gone through conscript training, but that doesn't make them Finnish army troops. They are UN peacekeeping unit, not Finnish army unit and there is a big big difference.
@@IdiotPosterBoy Western (and eastern) troops are in Afghanistan on request and with the agreement of the Afghan government to fight the Taliban, who made it their project to stone men for listening to secular music, slaughter women who go see a doctor and to douse girls with battery acid if they visit a school. ISAF is very much not a war of aggression, but of defense of basic human rights and civility.
@@hobes9551 the Finnish troops in Afghanistan are *not* UN peacekeeper troops (which is pretty much what anyone would think of when you mention of peacekeepers). They were a part of the NATO-lef ISAF troops and now a part of the Operation Resolute Support, which are definitely not operating under the peacekeeper standards.
In Finland you are asked where you would prefer to specialize in, but most of the time you'll be put in where the higher ups think you fit the best: I'm a mechanic for my civil education → mechanic in the military.
I guess it depends, i and everyone had complete decision on that in upinniemi 2014
I had my call-up bit over a week ago ago and for me it was basically them asking where I want to go and I said x so they put me in x, it seems that most of us spent 3 minutes tops in front of the board where that's chosen, Corona made the event very unusual this year I heard.
@@420cactusgaming7 yea that is the location of the garrison you are going. After the 8 week basic training you have a choise (i quess depending on garrison) what you want to specialize in. I chose military police for example :)
I personally got my butt hauled to vyks
Edit: i was 1/17
@@Vansjoo7966 rip. Good luck from Jaeger company gonakuski
Q1: No, the officers of Finnish Military do not look down upon the conscripts as at one time they were also conscripts.
Q2: From 2008 on wards Finnish Defense Forces have used classification T. This is a classification given to person who are relieved from conscription service on other grounds than medical reasons. Every year about 20k men between the ages 18-29 are trained by the Finnish Military. T Classification was given to 50 individuals (who are a danger to themselves and/or others on other grounds than medical reasons) between the years of 2008 and 2012. I am not sure about the current number, but I think it is somewhere between 100 and 150 (from implementation in 2008 to this day).
Q3: No. Women's conscription is still completely voluntary.
Q4: Conscription does not, in my opinion, does not suit US. Maybe The French Foreign Legion of sorts... and that's a big MAYBE!
Q5: If you are an engineer, doctor or have any kind of a profession when do your service. You most likely do something related to that. But you can express interest and/or apply to a special school in advance (combat diver/air force pilot/paratrooper). I told to my conscription board where I wanted to go (Pori Brigade in Säkylä) and the unit (Anti-Tank Company) there. That is what I got.
Q6: I would say about 80 to 90% of the personnel in these videos are conscripts. What you call "regular military are practically 80% officers, 15% NCO's and 5% civilians.
Q7: They are looking down the barrel after cleaning them after shooting practice on the range. You are correct, there is no gas tube, piston, bolt, recoil spring or the top cover on those rifles (Finnish AK variant Valmet RK-62).
Q8: Basic training for all is a great idea...
Q9: Rynnäkkökivääri = Assault Rifle
Q10: Basic grunt, communication specialist, etc. is 90% "You are going to do this, 10% I want to do this (if the training cadre cares about your opinion)."
Conscription works and it does not work.... countries with fewer people (like Finland) it is practically the only option. Countries with huge populations (like USA), it would turn military services into an absolute shit show.
PS. Hope you understand which questions I tried to answer in my answers. I'm happy to expand and explain in more detail my thoughts.
1st Lt, Anti-Tank Platoon Leader, Finnish Army Reserves.
I'm from the United States and was not in the military, I was a police officer until I was medically retired in 2005. Thank You for your service to your country.
Re Q7: Looks like the officer is inspecting that the barrel and the bolt have been cleaned off the gun oil before starting the shooting. But obviously, the process is the same when checking that the barrel has been cleaned properly after the shooting.
I think if the country is to big for conscription to be an option an mandatory "service time" would be an option, having an population that has basic training in how to act if things go belly up and had to rub shoulders with all social classes is an major asset.
Learning how to work together with people not of your choice alone is i think very important, if not the most important, at least how to tolerate other people you do not consider friend material.
Does a lot for that "Civilised manners" thing.
Does not need to be military or political at all, just some things that benefit the common good, putting some time aside to do things that not benefit one self.
Call it the 101 of how to be an citizen year
@RogerwilcoFoxtrot Non citizens can enlist into the US army as long they are living legally in the US.
EhranTheScribe Fastest animal in the woods😂
As a Finnish woman who has been in the military, I'd like to see compulsory military service happen for females as well. Knowing how to defend your country is so important and in my opinion some women could use the mental experience of it. It would also be good for women to understand at least one tiny piece of what the older generations had to endure to fight for our independence.
that's nonsense and will never happen.
@@kiihllehow its nonsens
@@mariharrik5987 Who's gonna take care of homes and the children while men are defending their country? Of course you wouldn't know that because you've never been in that situation.
@@kiihlle every problem has an solution :)
@@kiihlleTell me you aren't a Finn without telling me you aren't a Finn.
I have lived in Canada since I was 15 but went back to complete my Finnish military service in 1992. It was not easy, but looking back it was a great experience. I was in the Marines on the south coast. I would recommend the experience for every young man and woman.
Palasit takaisin suorittamaan asepalveluksen? Hatunnosto. Ja niinkuinsanoit, olihan se hauskaa.
Great man!😃
So you were in 1jk just after me. Btw it is "coastal jaegers" not marines. There was "laivaston kiväärimiehet" in Upiniemi which is more like marines. Coastal jaegers were much more guerilla warfare.
I'm a Norwegian citizen and we have conscription (mandatory military service, 12 months for both men and women), although the times are changing and we will probably replace it with a professional army akin to what the US has in the not so distant future. I served my 12 months in early 2000 and I think it was an important part of my path to adulthood. I learned many useful things during my service, one of the biggest was learning how to cooperate and live with two dozen complete strangers from every part of the country and from every social class. You're all the same when you're in the service, and I think that's healthy.
I'm also a Norwegian citizen, I did my 9 months in '96 in the army as an engineer. I was 21 or so, I cannot complain, it was a good experience. Then I got drafted in the home-guard. It was definitely not what I wanted. I was stuck with this for 23 years, but I did my effort, and I think the professional pathway is a better construct.
Long live Finland and Norway.
From my understanding norway has had for a long time a volunteer force. Not mandatory concription
@@Ashtonlegoguy Yeah, sort of.
@@Ashtonlegoguy Totally incorrect, sorry.
It is in the Finland constitution, that every citicen has a duty to defens theyr country. No matter what sex or age you are. But the military servise is mandatory only for men.
Greetings from Finland, engineer corpral from 2002.
No matter what sex or age you are, but what about what gender, what preferred pronoun?
hyvaa huomenta (that's all the suomi I know)
@@preferredpronoun3689 Haha
Are you even gay?
@@preferredpronoun3689 Finnish language doesn't have gender pronouns. We have one "hän" and it covers everyone.
16:10 They´re checking the barrel for dirt. It´s a prosecure before shooting on the shooting range. The officer in command is doing a "routine check" at the beginning with questions about the rules and waepons check, so you´ll remember them for sure
Dirt, also they check that barrel is dried properly from Oil, They also have the left hand raised up with the Bolt to Check that up aswell
Finnish always sounds like they tell us the biggest story in worlds history. realy love the sound of this language
Because of Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen, I discovered a love for the Finnish. :P
Its actually what JRR Tolkien based the Elvish language off of when he invented it for his Middle Earth books.
U know u can get from word kauppa (shop) over 2253 different forms and i can say as i am finnish myself our language may be beatiful but it is full of shit that you wont need never in your life and if you're gonna ever visit finland (don't) all that you must know is : russia bad and swedish gay
@@eetusedo visited finland already 4 times
@@12Burton24 poor you
I think because Our Grandfathers sacrificed everything for Our independence In ww2 that even today finnish men and women dont think its asking too much To serve Our country.
Definitely. People do bitch about it at the start but most people look back fondly after.
Tho I can't rly say shit, cuz i got booted after 2 weeks since i was born with shitty legs. Genuinely felt shitty for not being able to complete it, i actually enjoyed it except the fact that i wanted to cut my legs off after training sessions.
@Young Fatty you seem like a lil bitch
@Young Fatty You could maybe kill me if you sat on me, but first you'd have to get up and I don't think you can do that
@Young Fatty I wasn't referencing that...
@Young Fatty what do you mean no rights? :Dd where are you from? we’ve got all kindsa rights in Finland hahah
It's still voluntary for women. Men are the only ones who are 'forced' as long as they are healthy.
I wasn't healthy.
So basically what happened "we really dont care about that one fat retard"
@@GoldGalaxianFin my late big brother was "returned" because he wasn't healthy so it's bs to say all unhealthy guys are forced to do their duty till the end in this country.. He was about 190cm tall, weight around 150kg (zero of it muscle) + asthma. They sent him home pretty quickly, u can imagine. One can be owerweight in certain scale, doesn't automatically make one unhealthily fit for service..
@@Jefrma of course. But usually if you are overweight like me. You have bad back, low stamina and probably some sort of mental issue maybe
@@GoldGalaxianFin sounds like to me you weren't even close to as overweight as my brother and depending on how you did in their eyes, not too unhealthy for service. So the unfit part might only be inside your own head not an actual case.
@@Jefrma i would take that as compliment. If only what you said was true.
You don't even know me.
"Something scheduled the whole time". Yeah, pretty much. No off-days when not on leave.
The FDF has over 100 years of experience with conscription already. Downtime is something that has been hotly debated in media and public discourse. Complaints about "too much downtime" has been repeated consistently throughout the decades and there is nowadays very little of that left. It's was quite an efficient education package already during my own time not too many years ago. Personally I hope they don't rationalize out too much of the traditions in the same go.
@@EggwardEgghands When I did my service it lasted for 8 months instead of six and there definitely was some downtime near the end. Basic training which took, IIRC, the same two months as it is now was busy and the specialization stage was quite busy as well. So IMHO I think the training is pretty much as good, shortening it by two months just cut off the slack.
^agreed. Although it's spaced so you might have one week out in the woods, followed by one week of physical trainings and then a week of just sitting at a class room going trough materials, so that conscripts don't burn out and get some time off the physical stress.
@@markopoutiainen7108 The reason they cut the shortest service time to 6 months in 90's was to cut costs and given the end of the cold war, there was reduced need for troops that can be deployed immediately. Same goes with cutting the couple weeks off from service times few years ago, last couple weeks of the service used to be pretty much hanging around in barracks if folks didn't have much of leave days left.
@@762rk95tp Yeah, but I think it doesn't do much harm. As I said, there was some quiet time at the end anyways so cutting the slack means there should really be no real effect on the results. I did 8 months in my time.
I have to say, i have asthma and in call-ups officers said i dont have to go, i disagreed, i went to service and went to signal corps, also i did go to nco school, got out as corporal and now days i'm active reservist 🤙 serving country because there is no other country like finland
Lucky fuck, i had knee problems and was recommended to not go by doctor and higher up that i talked to pretty much told me to fuck off... Here people with asthma were pretty much told not to go back then too because the local barracks were completely fucked with mold.
@@kookoo9235 these officers dont actually understand, its about state of mind and commitment, i was just wild dice
I’m a proud father of 2 boys now serving their duty in the Navy brigade. This is not only good for the boys to be men but also a chance to understand the importance of protecting your independence. Thank you for your great videos
So what about the girls?
@@thawtianajawnson30 This person has two boys.
I pray your kids just train and are not deployed to return changed forever. I sadly was too idealist. Volunteered in Syria. Had all war nonsense banged out of me. Torture, Aleppo gas attack by terrorists. Changed me forever. My nations treatment of me on return in 2014. Well is why since 6th September 2016 not lived in the UK now.
Suddenly I’m proud to be a finn how well education is handled here, such small country that we are and such respect for the men here who have to go thru army!
Kiitos T: miehet
"Suddenly I’m proud to be a finn how well education is handled here, such small country"
Finland isn't really a small country, it's one the largest countries in the world.
@@mmestari I supose they meant by population...
@@mmestari It isnt
But in Finland the most important thing they forgot to add in this video is pancake Thursday’s.
Pea soup is the most important part, pannukakku is just extra.
@@JDelwynn Hell yes to that!
hyi vittu hernerokkaa
@@tossaja there ain't enough mustard in it if you can't eat it with a fork.
Or, as (Swedish actor) Peter Stormare's dim-witted character from the movie "Fargo" said, "Where's pancakes house?" . . . "We stop at pancakes house." . . . "I'm ****ing hungry now, you know!"
I'm not sure if that scene took place on a Thursday, but then again, they weren't in Finland.
Military service has left good memories. For many guys it was first time away from mom’s cooking.
You leave the military with lifelong memories and friends. I’d say 90% remember warmly about it in Finland. 🙂
I had shity attitude when going there but while spending time there i started enjoying it and when it finally was over i looked back and realised it was propably the best time of my life. I was 19 yo spent 5,5 month there (new friends, no worries about money or anything, just do your task and rest good, spend time in woods, test yourself almost in everything, how you can handle cold, how good are u at shooting, how good is your stamina, lot of laughs during the whole service.) and now 24yo can’t wait for military refresher.
Mine was awful my superior's lied about me plus bad cought because old barracks in Upinniemi and that resulted to me plea for c-papers I'm not proud of those papers but I saw it as only option.
I served one year in Finnish army when I was 18. I chose to go to special technical training included with NCO training. Its been 22 years since that service and I've been called back for more training every 2 years. I'm proud to to be ready to defend my country if shit hits the fan. Even though they got better and younger men :)
Nääh... You are not needed any more... if you are too old. like you said, they have better and more capable men to do the job :)
@@markkuantero1427 Toivottavasti :)
Joo mutta jos on varaa kerrata niin miksei
@@markkuantero1427
@@markkuantero1427 Parempi olla reserviläisiä joita ei tarvita, kuin tarvita reserviläisiä joita ei ole.
I serviced for 12 months. 10 years ago in Northen Finland. I was a military driver and got License to drive big trucks, semis and all kinds of vehicle combinations. Has been very useful afterwards.
Separating conscripts and "the regular military" sounds silly to me as a finnish person. The conscripts pretty much are THE regular military.
@AlbertaStrength I do agree that it's the best system for Finland to use as of now, as a country with only 5,5 million residents. Also I think in a way it's an extended part of the educational system, since you learn a lot of useful skills that are not necessarily military related.
@AlbertaStrength Apparently you don’t realise we share a lot of border with Russia and we need as many men as we can get.
@@miko5167 ... lmao
@AlbertaStrength Yes. It's the most cost efficient way to maintain a strong defence force and it teaches many useful things like composure in the face of high preassure, social skills, leadership skills, self-confidence and responsibility. It makes boys into men. Of course it's not without flaws, but it's a positive thing overall.
@AlbertaStrength I was counting days to get out and so did many of my friends. Still, very few people disagree with the conscription even they wouldn't enjoy it. It is what it is when you have a 1000km border with a great power that happens to attack it's smaller neighbours every now and then.
the Finnish Defence Forces do good job at aiding the young men to the next step in their life, for example FDF is the place where most of our truck drivers get their truck driving licence and end up as truck drivers in civilian life. and yes you have the option to choose where you end up serving, greetings from a Leopard 2A4 main battle tank mechanic. Some of the equipment in the video is outdated and we got newer equipment in use at the moment than those showing in the video.
Ristus Notta Aussie here, that first part is part of the reason why I love the idea of conscription, there are a lot of young men who are lost with what do do with themselves and/or had poor upbringings and as a result either become a drain or outright menace to society. I feel there are many who are doing it rough that service could turn out to be a life changing experience for. Additionally with China breathing down our neck I’d feel a lot more confident about my nations future if we had a population that had military experience.
@@vladimirpudin2796 After high school I was kinda secluded and lonely as I was never able to make friends there. But the military actually really helped me get back on track.
@@vladimirpudin2796 The idea of conscription is fine as long as it doesn't create a 2 teired system of citizens. Men who have no rights and have to serve and women who have rights and are given a choice. Also, Aussies isn't proper up by the EU so would be bloody expensive.
My time as a conscript was the greatest time of my life. A tightly packed set of training that made me completely consider the garrison as "home." I was in the AA assault recon platoon, had stuff going on almost 24/7, nightly recon missions and high alert during the days. I was already raised a disciplined kid with lots of erä skills (meaning knowledge of nature, hiking, bushcraft, fishing etc), but it felt like I learnt a helluva lot during my time in the Armored Brigade: Basic skills, logical thinking, prioritizing, self-discipline and resistance to constant pressure. When I went back to reserve, finished my studies and started working it felt like even most of my social skills were derived from the army times. Such a great school on a personal level, would recommend to everyone. Cures shyness, builds confidence and muscle, teaches you to laugh when all is lost and leaves damn precious memories.
Worked along side them in Africa found them very professional & well equipped 🇮🇪
I dont think any conscripts went to Africa :D
They were conscrips only 8 week exrta camp .
@@suomiman100 Peace keepers
@@justsomeghostwithinterneta7296 yeah they are not conscripts
@@suomiman100 They are
A farmer with his gun,.......Stalin's worst nightmare, waking up in a snow-covered forest and hears someone singing in Finnish,
There are still hidden stashes of old WW2 weapons that were used by the soldiers, volunteers and civilian fighters so they could quickly arm themselves if they needed to scramble and fight back soviet forces.
Too bad that we do not have very many farmers, nor guns, these days.
Oh the Winter War. Such history. The White Death. Moti tactics. It was not a good time to be red army.
@@tsalesto We have plenty of both, what are you talking about.
@@tsalesto Back then farmers were most common, now a days it's some other job. "A call of duty kid whit a gun"
The rifle was always called "rynnäkkökivääri" over here in Finland, and it directly translates to "assault rifle"
You mean: After we stopt using guns and got the assault rifles. You are too young to remember.
first assault rifle was "der Sturmgewehr" in Germany in WW2. Wehrmacht wanted something with more firepower that a submachine gun, so enter the cartridge 7,92 mm kurz, and the weapon that fired it. some were captured by the red army - enter the AK47, and the rest of the world followed through with all kinds of models
@@zymelin21DAS Sturmgewehr 😜
I agree, I think most people would benefit from military service. Ir breeds good life skills, teamwork, integrity, and discipline.
And a kick to the Ass
The problem is that an all volunteer force is far more effective in battle
@@aquilafasciata5781 Maybe, but only if they´re trained and can sustain the losses in a war they can prevail
In South Korea, as a male, by law you must serve a minimum of two years in the military once you turn 18. It's a pretty cool system!
AquilaFasciata Really depends on the training. Do not forget, that also the brightest kids have to serve in a conscription military and the worst can be weeded out. Haven’t heard any complaints about the effectiveness of our conscripts in training excercises against professional militaries, including US Army and Marines.
Being a finnish conscript is a way different thing than being a drafted. For us old reservist still getting trained and having a placement in certain troops it is an honor. Honor to serve and honor to be ready.
When I was in conscript service in my 20s, I didn't like it much cos' I didn't have the knowledge why I was put into that branch. After 18 years in reserve, my placement has changed couple of times, but now I know my part in this show and really love it. Every week I check my mail and wait for the next training order.
Honor, duty, will ❤️
"Being a finnish conscript is a way different thing than being a drafted. "
BS, in reality there's not much difference. The only difference is when it happens. Your idea of honor, seems to have honesty replaced with false pride.
@@mmestari haha, words of a Russian troll.
@@mmestariit only looks the same if you're an idiot. The biggest difference is that in a conscription system, you are raised with the knowledge that if you are able bodied, you will be conscripted at some point, and the entire society around you understands this and is easily able to accommodate for it. It also has no expectations of overseas deployment, that's for professional soldiers.
The draft is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
You are raised with a very vague idea that it's possible that you could be drafted, basically every adult male has the paperwork, but in reality there's been maybe 15 out of the last 100 years where there was a genuine risk of being drafted. And it is a risk because being drafted (as opposed to conscription) also includes the very real possibility of being deployed overseas, and usually in units with rapid low quality training. You could even avoid being deployed for several months if you enlisted right before you would have been drafted because enlisted training was significantly longer, and would likely put you in a higher skill and lower risk MOS.
The American draft is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like Finnish conscription
I was UAV (drone) operator. It was separate training period. It was a 19-week specialization training to be applied for. It required an entrance examination: including a psychological test, a pressure endurance test and a physical Class A.
My service lasted 347 days, of which I was about 50% in military exercises. Over 100 nights in nature:)
Guy from Finland here!
Personally i think the military recruitment system in Finland is great. You can either go and serve your country or do one years worth of public works (hospital maintenance, eldery care etc.) Unless you are Female then it is all volunteered.
Personally loved my service time at air forces (SatLsto 1/19 medic). Mostly all people enjoy their deploinment time. schedule is tight but good night time is 99% of the time at 22:00 p.m and wake up at 6:00 am so you'll get plenty off sleep time.
For any future medics out there: Keep an open mind it isn't hard unless you make it hard.
1/19 saapumiserä on kultaa
@@santerialava6500 täähän se olis
I wish jamaica was half like this.
My motto was if it isnt hard it isnt fun
@Young Fatty what? 🤣
When you have almost the whole age group of men and some women to choose from you will find the right people for the right jobs.
Makes sense. Age limits are silly. Should be based on abilities. Ex USA age limits on service.
@@JamesonsTravels
Age limits are arbitrary, sure. But where else do you go with a conscription system? With half of our population coming to serve, there's no reasonable way to check how mature each and every individual is. We do tests, but there's a limit to how much multiple choice tests can filter out. In the end, we just have to draw an age line, and assume that anyone 18 years old has their stuff together.
Finland actually got into a bit of trouble with the EU since in the past we allowed 17 year olds into military service. Those were considered child soldiers, and that broke some treaties we signed or something like that.
I'm sure you'll agree that kids should play with Lego bricks instead of Kalashnikovs.
@@StoryTimeSA France, the UK and germany all take in 17 years olds if they have a written permit by their parents.
If i`m informed right the uk even younger.
Not a fan of the EU or any active conscription system. I`m for a voluntary system combined with privileges like weapons privileges, voting privileges, electing&election privileges, jobs by state privileges, the privilege to go to university and so on as well as other benefits.
@@mrd7067 I'm also for voluntary system but only for sovereign rights such as hold public office and right to vote.
@@normaaliihminen722 Why not the other things?
I got C-papers (released from service in the peace time). I went to the garrison, as planned, at age of 21, but I have bad GAD+PTSD and other mental problems slapped onto that. I got to speak to social worker several times in the garrison, talked to my superiors and the doctor - I had the feeling they were authentically interested in my problems and wellbeing - I felt I was not being judged. The age of 21 was bad for me, overall, I was going to uni (which was put on hold for the time of service, VERY inconvenient), had these mental problems and my relationship with my girlfriend was going bad at home - situation was very hard for me overall back then. I felt they really cared for my wellbeing - hence they released me from service at that time. Now that I have 2 degrees and 6.5 years of business, HR, admin and leadership training from uni, also being IT and tech savvy, now at age of 27 (soon 28), I really feel like I would like to try again. Now I really would appreciate all the training and I feel the duty of defending my country, in case of possible attack. Perhaps I can still get into the army, change my status of "C-papers" and use my advanced degrees and work experience to be useful for our military. All my friends and all my relatives (some even fought in the wars of ww2 in Finland, utmost respect for those heroes), including my younger brother, went to military and when I hear their stories, I really feel kind of left out - like I missed something important I should have experienced. I never hated nor disliked the army/conscription. The situation at that moment in my life was bad. Now it is much better. I would like to try again, but I do not know if this is possible. And yes, I know and feel the burden of not doing my duty and service back at the time - even some shame.
Hope this was interesting story/perspective for you.
Tää saattaa olla jo mennyttä tai siis ettei oo ajankohtaista enää. Mutta mahdollisesti muille jotka on nyt samassa tilanteessa niin, Esikuntaan vaan soittoa ja sopii että mitenkäs pääsis etenemään. Mä en usko että PV käännyttää yhtäkään halukasta ja motivoitunutta käsiparia pois ovelta ainakaan keskustelematta asiasta ensiksi. Suoraan PV:n palvelukseen voi tulla ikä hommia esteeksi mutta sitten varmasti ohjaavat reserviläistoiminnan piiriin missä pystyy oma ehtoisesti saamaan vähintään saman tasoisen peruskoulutuksen. Ehkä jopa sulle sopivammin räätälöidyn kurssi kokonaisuuden koska niitä koulutuksia ei olla suunniteltu 15.000 varusmiehelle vaan juuri kyseisille kurssilaiselle.
It teaches GENERATIONS to be disciplined and respectful and PROUD of their country. Something many unfortunately does NOT learn either at school or at home. As a Norwegian who were 1 year in the Air Force as a conscript I feel bad that the system of conscription really is not alive and well anymore. So few go through military service now..
If anything conscription teaches you how it's a bad idea to be an introvert in the real world.
e fylte ut egenerklæringen å håper å bli kalt inn til sesjon
Shit, here in the US there are classes in both College and High School that brainwash kids into thinking our flag is a sign of racism, white people, conservatism, and republicanism are all inherently racist, our Military is made up of horrible people, and police are always hunting to kill black people.
I wish he had what Finland has. These pointless riots, and hate towards white people, the Military, and Law Enforcement would all be nonexistent.
@@young.angry.devildawg That’s because CONServatism & the Republicans ARE Racist, Fascist assholes!!! Their ruining our great Country, something we will not let happen!!!
@@LexPips If I was a neo-libertarian, I'd not be so different from a Nazi myself. We need conscription because of people like you, those who need discipline and training. You corporates love to destroy the poor and middle class, and you say you're for us and yet you hurt us. Get out of here, you're not a human being.
The term Assault Rifle became a thing in the 1940s when Germany developed the Sturmgeweher. The Finnish service rifle, designed in the 60s is called Rynnäkkökivääri 62 (RK62), that translates to Assault/Storm Rifle 62.
And Sturmgewehr translates to something like "storming rifle", as in storming into a building. So in other words: assault rifle
Austrians also use "Sturmgewehr" since latest 1958 (STEYR FAL-Licence); basically a rifle with Full Auto capability in our understanding
@Stimpy&Ren the new M models of rk are still in 7.62
@@ffff-rd6zp can confirm. Didnt have personally one, i had 1st old RK62 then bit newer RK95TP after i was tranfered to mechanized unit but my basic training NCO in AA where i began had RK62M2 and it was in 7.62x39 still. Finnish army really isnt fan of smaller 5.56 or 5.45 rounds.
Wrong, the Russian Fedorov was the first assault rifle
At young age i were in prison for over two years. I got release from army because i was in jail, but i went in to finnish army as a volunteer after release from prison. I got out of army as a corporal. Fun times😀
I love Finland 🇫🇮
Cheers from Sweden 🇸🇪
Cheers
Skål !
@@OlliAarne 🍸 Kippis till broderlandet
Skål 😄 Swedish brother
Glad you like it:)
Cheers from Finland
The specialized roles are picked by score: The conscripts "compete" during the basic training in various ranked areas. The one with the highest score gets to pick first, while the one with the least has to deal with what's left. However, if there is indication that you would fit a specific role, you will be steered torwards it.
You will have húga backpacks but the woods training mission are usually multiple weeks. You live in the woods for along time with a squad
they are checking at the shooting range that the barrel of a gun is cleaned proberly
and bolt on the left hand is checked also
I am currently serving in the finnish army as a part of my conscription. To answer one of the questions in the video about wheter you get to pick a role or you're put in one, it works like this:
The army asks you a bunch of questions about your skillset, your fitness and your intrests. Then they try to put you in a position you'd fit in aswell as be interested in. But obviously army needs go first. Everyonr can't control the drones.
Wow, I guess the new program wasn't all talk since I don't remember being asked one thing but where I wanna serve and I said the exact battalion-level unit where I wanted to be and there I ended up too.
I hoped to get to air defence or transport, ended up carrying tellermines as an engineer. Sweet!
Finnish coastal jaeger here! I did my military service back in the 90's and so did my 3 brothers. I enjoyed it, made a lot of good friends there!
Finnish coastal jaeger; you will be commanded to clear the sea mines of Russia so that real Jaegers of Finland= Hakkapelitaat can enter into Russian soil and claim sovereign. This was just a scenario. Finland has arsenal and multiple options with skilled general like Mannerheim= it equals what? Total superiority!
I think conscription could actually give you a lot of great soldiers who hadn't really considered the military but end up loving it
@Vanja Soskic I think he means some people who would otherwise not choose to try out military, would therefore be forced to join, maybe finding that they love the job, regardless of pay.
I was supposed to serve only for 6 months. I went to NCO school and after service worked there for awhile. Loved it!
I think if they would have conscription they would just start invading more other countries...
@@123Sander1231 ironically, that’s actually how one would make the policy of conscription unpopular within a nation, at least in the US (e.g. The Vietnam War). If a nation’s goal is to invade other countries, then that nation should prefer volunteers to fill up their ranks; seeing as these are the men who actually want to get into a fight in their lives and they’ll be far less likely in combat to hesitate in pulling the trigger or missing their shots on purpose. If the nation simply wants to remain vigilant and provide some basic job training to citizens to help their military handle its everyday operations, then conscription would work just fine. However, the US already gets both of those with an all-volunteer force and it’s quite effective at it.
The only advantage I can see that a conscripted system has over an all-volunteer system is that with the conscripted system the overall nation ends up with a more disciplined civilian population afterwards.
It most certainly will.
In many of the professional military systems, those that would make the best soldiers don't end up choosing that career, as someone who would make a great soldier usually would make great all kinds of other things as well, so many of them never become soldiers as it isn't their first choice.
Some people are just great at pretty much everything they choose to pursue, and most of them don't choose a military career.
When I was doing my service here in Finland, we had a US LTC visiting our hq and he was blown away from the fact that we can create our troops to be the level we need to be at in 6-12months what in the US you spent 3 years for. The structure of the training is so efficient and well designed.
I'm not Finnish. Without even knowing any details, my first guess would be: It's because of the education, isn't it? Finland has a hugely better education system, and it shows. Recruits would come with not just more knowledge but also a better work ethic.
I would ALSO guess that the conception of training programs benefited from findings of actual modern learning theories, you know, SCIENCE. Again, I do not KNOW this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reason.
Whether the forces are ready to be tested in combat is a whole other ballgame, however.
@@thecheekychinaman6713 Yes, that is a good question. Defense of Finland itself has not been tested in this post-WW2 information age... HOWEVER the military doctrine itself HAS been tested.
(What is meant: country with little depth of territory, small but well-educated population, mandatory military service for all/male citizens, good training, good up-to-date military tech, powerful diplomacy).
Certain OTHER countries with cranky neighbors have tested this approach and it works very well: South Korea, Israel... Taiwan has not been at WAR but it would not exist if it wasn't for this. (Recently they ended conscription but other points remain true.) Any other examples?
@@lexprontera8325 you mentioned you're not finnish. I can tell you from first hand experience, most of the conscripts go for the 5.5 month training period (20% go for leadership, of which half go officer candidates). Of which two months is basic training. It's not enough to produce a combat ready deterrent. The other countries you just mentioned have significantly longer service periods (2 years for sk and Singapore, taiwan I'm not sure, israel is 2?). And out of those examples, only israel has recently shown some effective combat ability in action. South Korea has been attacked a few times via naval and artillery, with no infantry response.
Applying education is fine, but if your troops haven't been exposed enough to combat conditions they'll be too shocked to apply their so called civilian skills. Doctrine is hence not shared with those examples.
@@thecheekychinaman6713 Makes sense. I can believe that.
I did my 6 months service as a first-recon, and that backbag weights about 50kg = 110lbs when you are on told to take C gear with you (A, B and C) and longest distance we had to carry it was 102km = 32,3 miles (2 days hiking trip)
The Many. The Proud. Finnish Armed Forces
Most Finnish Men take it as an honour to be able to do military service!
That we do.
And then here is us who still needs to wait few years but is already panicking like yup im going to fail, and just lots of what if?
Of course, I’ll defend Finland to the grave.
@@tomi9562 It's not like you will be send overseas. It's not hard, it's not easy either... or at least it wasn't easy. No idea how it is today.
When I went there I was sure I wouldn't be there for more than six months, but actually did 12. They didn't make me stay there, I liked it. At first of course I wasn't a fan, but at some point I was okay with it. Even thought of joining the UN forces... something I would never even consider these day.
@@MrAatami its just that, life would chanfe pretty hard for few months and im not used to get up early and almost imediatly go dling something physicsl for whole day. And that is whole new place.
The term "assault rifle" was actually coined by Adolf Hitler in 1944, to refer to the weapon we now know as the STG-44. In german it became known as Sturmgewehr 44 ("Storm rifle 44", as in storming/assaulting a position). Before that, the weapon was called the MP-43/MP-44 (Machine pistol/submachinegun), even though it was in fact a rifle, chambered for the new 7.92x33mm intermediate cartridge.
It started out in 1942 as the "MKB-42" or "machine carbine 42", and Hitler decided that his arms manufacturers should focus on developing submachineguns instead of rifles, so he shut the project down. The designers obviously wanted to continue working on their project and defied Hitler's orders by just calling it a submachinegun.
The rifle went out to troops on the eastern front to be field tested and the story goes that in a meeting with high officers, Hitler had asked them what they needed and so on, and they said "alot more of these new rifles!". "What new rifle?", Hitler is said to have asked. The cat was out of the bag then.
But once he got to see the how effective it was, he actually liked it so much that he christened it the "Assault rifle", mostly for propaganda value.
Thank you for the info. I love military history.
You forgot the part where the mp43/44 was called a Sturmgewehr 44 because it was the first ever produced with selective fire and thus "deserved" a new name.
Selective fire on a rifle nowadays identifies it as an assault rifle in many cases.
@@noodlebob5302 I think it's more so that the weapon set the standard for what we define as an assault rifle today:
* Selective fire capability
* Firing an intermediate cartridge
The name "Sturmgewehr" was purely for propaganda value, whereas the original "Maschinenkarabiner" (Machine carbine) would've been more appropriate to refer to the type of weapon based purely on function.
For example, the term "assault rifle" never stuck here in Sweden. The Swedish military calls the weapon type "Automatkarbin" (Automatic carbine, shortened to "AK" which has confused some people).
Over in Finland however, in the Swedish-speaking parts and especially at the Nyland brigade where the Finnish coastal jaegers are trained (which is a Swedish-speaking regiment), they call it "Stormgevär", which is alot closer to the german "Sturmgewehr".
@@guzzoscorner Also; *Use of stamped metal parts, *High capacity removeable magazines.
Now, we all know that not all use 'stamped metal parts', and it doesn't need to be all stamped parts.
Although, most magazines, unless plastic, are stamped metal. AK Manufacturers use a lot of, or just some stamped metal Also, Officially, the AK-47 is the 2nd Assault Rifle ever manufactured.
@@noodlebob5302 true. But there was some changes added between mkb42 - mp43 The MKb 42(W) fired from a closed bolt and used a hammer firing system, while the MKb 42(H) fired from an open bolt and used a striker for firing. Both used a large amount of stamped parts to speed and simplify construction while keeping down costs. The parts were then riveted or spot welded together. In December 1940, a prototype rifle each from Haenel and Walther was tested by the HWA at Kummersdorf. Both designs were tested on the Eastern Front during 1942 and the Haenel design proved superior to Walther's MKb 42(W). The German Army ordered a number of changes be made to the MKb 42(H) and the designation for the new rifle was MP 43.
The term 'assault rifle' started in the German military near the end of WW2 when the MP-44 was renamed the Sturmgewehr-44. Assault rifle is a direct translation into English. That term might not be used in the US military, but it's definitely been used as a firearms term since 1944.
And the assault rifle term was also coined due to the invention of an intermediate medium powered rifle cartridge that created a distinct weapon class.
Yes, the Stg 44 formed a rough blueprint for the modern assault rifle. It's a weapon you can effectively & accurately use at distances way beyond 100 m while having the ability to fire at reasonable rates. At that stage, you had smg's, lmg's, mg's and rifles, however, nothing that packaged everything as well as an Stg 44.
You mentioned the possibility of having a French foreign type unit in the U.S to earn citizenship. I know my son born here in Canada has dual citizenship with Finland. He like many expats went to Finland to serve his conscription 8 years ago . He was based in Santahamina as a Guards Jaeger. He had a number of U.S , Brits, Australians, Canadians in this unit. All the officers would converse initially in English but would quickly get the conscripts to learn command in Finnish. For expats the military Service ties together their citizenship and is important.
I served in Santahamina as well, some six years ago. We had people come in from all over the world. We had one Italian guy who didn't speak Finnish, but learned it so quickly he eventually became an NCO.
Guard's Jaeger regiment has a company that is colloquially known as "Muukalaislegioona" or Foreign Legion, that usually receives most expats (or anyone else with a foreign-sounding name even if they've been born in Finland and speak Finnish). I served in the MP company 10 years ago and we had 1 or 2 expats as well but they all spoke Finnish well.
I was one of those Aussies. Same base same year. Great experience, I wish Aus had mandatory conscription.
My mother was born in Finland. I had never been there. Went for the adventure, never spoke the language. I was initially accidentally stationed at an artillery base in the country where few superiors spoke english but was transferred to the capital where English was more commonly known. I didn't receive all instructions but my squad translated what I needed to know and I was ultimately promoted to Korpraali. I participated in the national pentathlon competition and was selected for most fire demonstrations. If you try hard and show a willingness to learn, they embrace you. I would do it again if I could. I was in the anti-armour unit KRKK
Voluntary conscription
Finland is prepared for all kind of emergencies, not just full war, but nature disasters, terror attacs etc. If you are working in a specific field, you most likely are listed as an emergency resouce in case of a national disaster. Even the Covid-19 means that in a worst case scenaario theese lists are utilized to keep people alive.
As an electical engineer, I know that my professional knowledge is listed for power networks and telecom if needed. Doctors and nurses are listed for healtcare duties, truck drivers are driving heavy vehicles, etc.
The civilian jobs are also one factor in choosing where you are going to end up in wartime. A small nation has to use its recouces smart, special knowledge is best used in special tasks.
Sounds good to hear
Did my time in Signal Corps as NCO 01/2010 . Those days we served full year they've since shortened service time.
Absolutely loved my time there. I lost 20kg of weight, gained great friends and learned leadership. From the start I aimed for NCO training and got in. I would say it was the best time of my life :)
My father served in UNEF peace keeping force in late 80s after his conscription, so my family always had positive image of military service.
Greetings from Finland! My military service starts January 2021 :) And Women still have voluntary military service.
vitusti aamuja
Aamuja monnille
Minnepäin meet?
@@HiilandKew Vekaranjärvi
@@juliuskakela Siistii :)
Finnish Conscript works because the structure is not based on "dismantling people" or hazing/bullying the conscripts, to "shape" them to certain mold of soldier.
Instead it is designed so that everyone is set a bar which they need to cross and most of the time conscripts are designated on military roles where they have motivation/attributes to cross that bar.
Example: my bunk mate was lazy to some degree and unmotivated for the service. So when Captain made evaluations for branch selections he told him, that he wanted to be headquarters drivers (Cab driver for staff personal).
Captain said "naah, I think you want to be a military police" and the guy found hes correct bond to swim around and became exemplary MP sergeant.
Officers/Sergeants who are training the new conscripts are still conscripts themselves and have really strict authority over lower ranking conscripts. (this I know since I almost received disciplinary actions myself, for overstepping a boundary)
Best benefit for military service in my opinion is, that you have to get along and work with wide variety different people, you might be in some cases be stuck with same people for a year.
Also when following orders/assignments you have to accept, that you cant do everything yourself and you really can't judge books by their cover. Often the people when looked upon make you wonder, "who tied your shoe lases today" Can be equally resourceful as everyone else when given a fair change.
Best example I can come up from my time was this guy who saw world in 1 and 0 and just couldn't sleep without hes own special pillow.
He even toke the pillow to camps in vacuum bag, we did joke around about it "just wait till we hide beans under your mattress", but after while we got used to it.
What comes to hes performance, it wasn't top notch in any metric, but he got crossed the bar and got things done in hes own way and that's all what mattered to rest of us.
My sergeant announced, that our teams motto was "never the last" which means, if you find yourself being the slowest member of the team, you wouldn't relax till you pushed and trained yourself to the point where you were second slowest. It was all the same if you were second slowest or the fastest in your team, all that mattered was not to be last, often the "last" guys didn't tend to stay last for long.
To me the difference is between being part of a self defense force that does catastrophe relief and an army that gets sent to fight and die wherever politicians decide. Finns get ready to defend their country. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori: It is sweet and fitting to die for your country.
To serve as cannon fodder you need different training.
Its expensive for finland even if some people lie something else
@@askman1116 As the Romans said: vis pacem para bellum. If you want peace prepare for war. Russian occupation would be even more expensive.
@@xhagast * Si vis pacem para bellum. It's a pretty commonly used line here
i have to agree that it Seems that most of the cadre officers who do the allocations know better what you want than yourself. For some reason i didnt get into any of the fun jobs , until after a certain time when they pushed me into a fun job they had obviously selected for me beforehand.
I got my orders to go to the army when I was 18. Best year of my life. I wanted to go and do my duty since I was a kid. I was a TOW gunner and loved it. I love my country and if necessary I will defend it. Greetings from Finland 🇫🇮 Ps. Your channel is awesome!👍
Prior to live shooting at range, they hold the weapon on their right shoulder and the bolt in their left hand. The one leading the shooting is checking the barrel and usually checks the bolt, this to reduce the risk of malfunction during shooting, malfunction could causes the exercise/practice to drag out time wise or end up in injury or damage to the rifle. They stand like that in front of their place.
Also most of the guns are old so sort of makes sense.
Yeah checking if the conscripts actually cleaned their weapons after the order was given. I remember those who never liked to clean their gear and everyone got held up and they were not liked as much after. Safety is number 1 priority when dealing with firearms.
I'm Danish and have served 8 years so far in the Danish army, just want to let you know that all the nordic countries have conscription: Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. I agree that it does not hurt anyone to get conscripted, people learn alot about themselves and their country. I think the main reason to have conscription is probably because of the lack of manpower in smaller countries like the scandinavian. In the US manpower is probably not an issue. As always you another great video.
Thanks for the insight. I like the idea all the way around. At least some basics for starting life whether college or not. Problem here is we have so many SJW that it would never happen. It would become politial to score points on each side.
@@JamesonsTravels Yes, i agree on that. Guess some would argue it would take away peoples liberty or freedome of choice or something like that. There are alot of benefits for having conscripts. When I trained recruits alot didn't like it, but in the end all was glad that they got to do their military service. They learned alot about self-discipline, respect and to be a good citizen. Fun-fact, surprisingly many of those who didn't want to join the army, acutally end up applying to become professional soldier.
@@johank9797 I believe that Sweden got rid of conscription and switched to professional army a few years back. I might be wrong on this though
@@aleksi-mikaelkivela7354 Nope you are absolutely right. They got rid of it some years ago, but now they have reinstated it again. Mainly because of the detoriating relationship between Russia and Sweden.
@@johank9797 Also because they didn't get as many volounteers as expected during the years of professionals only (conscription had always been the only way in to becoming a professional soldier) and people in general wanted conscription to be reinstalled. I was a conscript in the Swedish Navy in 2001 and I liked it. After 12 months I really wanted back to do stuff in civilian life, but I never once regretted my one year of military service. Learned a lot!
Assault Rifle = Sturmgewehr, the first intermediate-caliber automatic rifle used by Germans since 1943.
So yeah, it's a WW2 name.
And in Finnish, it is indeed, word for word, "assault rifle".
The US has some weird issues about "Assault weapons", because of legal shenanigans. But Assault Rifle is a perfectly understandable name for a type of gun.
The M16/M4 is an assault rifle, whereas the M14 and FN FAL are battle rifles.
Military service is seen as a regular part of growing men's life. It's essentially given, that unless you have some serious reasons, you first finish your schools (from the elementary to HS-level), then serve your few months, then join the ranks of the society. While things are much more forgiving and people open-minded these days, you could say that those (men) who DON'T serve are actually looked down upon by the majority. Those women who have served tend to get silent "extra points" in the job interviews and social circles.
No, women are not conscripted, and any kind of talk about "involuntary service" is pure BS this day and age; you literally got the right to refuse military service and do civilian service instead. Kids who absolutely don't wanna do their time usually don't end up wearing the uniform. Hell, lots of young folks who WANT to serve but cannot join in, be it because being obese, having diabetes... etc
The experience gained in the boots is highly respected in the civilian life, and vise versa. Folks who want to be a doctor or nurse tend to apply for medic tasks. serving as a truck-driver used to be the easiest and cheapest way to get a civilian driving license for semitrailers, future pilots prolly go to air-force and cops most likely start as MPs... etc.
All in all, FDF is like a part of the society itself, because in the end its the people themselves defending the nation when SHTF. Besides getting drunk, sharing your "army stories" is arguably the fastest way to break the ice with the Finns.
And no, there is no "regular military", just one Finnish Defense Forces.
Even the most high-ranked generals started off as greenhorn conscripts way back in the day, and volunteered for military life afterwards.
Conscripting only men is wrong.
@@thawtianajawnson30 What are they going to make all the women do? I get it in principle but having a bunch of men who don't want to be there is bad enough imagine having loads of women with zero interest in doing service.
@@nutyyyy honestly, if you REALLY don't want to be in the boots, nothing's stopping you from leaving and doing the civilian service instead.
Conscripting "everyone" is maybe too much, but the call-ins should by all means include both sexes these days.
Especially in the modern times, the military service and -life consists of much more than just crawling around with a rifle. There's a wide variety of different sort of tasks and jobs that need to be taken care of, from logistics to literal 3D modeling simulator assets. Many of the taught skills also may help you in the civilian life afterwards.
Here are some additional details and probably a bunch more:
Every single day spent at the garrison is scheduled, usually with total 8 hours of active "service" per day, be it training or just general work, such as equipment maintenance following an exercise. The entire service is just training until the very end when you're moved into reserve as a trained war-time unit. Basically conscript service in its entirety is the training period.
The actual active career soldiers are generally the people in higher positions of leadership, acting as senior instructors or unit commanders (so called "staff" personnnel for conscripts), running the conscript training and service. War-time forces (280 000 personnel at a time) consist almost exclusively of reservists (900 000 in total), with usually only one active duty guy (the company/battery chief) per unit. Thus there are no real active duty forces alongside the conscripts/reservists apart from few small exceptions.
Since 2017 there are also the so called readiness units, though. These also consist of conscripts (and a handful of staff in equal duties), usually chosen for it based on their performance during basic training. They serve 6 months normally with everyone else and _then_ serve another 6 months on readiness duty in the readiness unit, while receiving additional training not only limited to their own weapon branch. Readiness units are basically quick/first response units with the know-how and equipment of virtually all weapon branches in a single company sized package. This was Finland's direct response to the events in Ukraine as a measure against hybrid warfare, as well as to cover the "ghost weeks" when there are only minimal active forces at garrisons due to the old batch having finished their service but the new batch not yet having started theirs.
To become an active career soldier you must complete your conscript service as a leader, after which you can stick around to work as an instructor (conscript leaders usually do most of the actual instructor duties during active training sessions), or if you wish to become an officer, go to the national defence university to study for 3 years as a cadet to graduate as a lieutenant. Basically finnish cadets have all already completed 347 day military service as a leader, as that is a requirement for the university.
Conscript leaders receive training at the NCO and reserve officer schools, but what follows this period is 5.5 months of acting as a leader, leading and training the recruits of the next branch as they start their service. This "leadership period" is considered the actual true training that the NCO or reserve officer school merely offered a foundation for. Conscript corporals and officer candidates lead the recruits/privates of the next batch essentially running the unit's daily life and usually performing most of the training sessions. You get a lot of independence and responsibility as a conscript leader. Finnish corporals are almost exclusively either squad leaders or platoon deputy leaders (normally you become a sergeant in the case of the latter), while officer candidates are generally platoon leaders. Officer candidates are promoted to 2nd lieutenants in reserve on their very last day of service. Privates may also be promoted to private 1st class ("korpraali") if they perform well, which essentially makes them squad deputy leaders.
The highest rank you can reach without additional NCO school type course is corporal. Conscript NCOs can reach any NCO rank in reserve, while reserve officers can reach the rank of a major at most. Promotions in reserve require 10 additional days of refresher exercise days under your belt, as well as a minimum of 4 years since your last promotion. Even then its not automatic and you have to be recommended for it by your CO. Reserve ranks are equal to active ranks (res lt who merely did conscript service and was promoted in reserve is equal to an active lieutenant who studied 3 years for it), ever since marshal Mannerheim made it so as a reward to finnish reservists for their performance during the winter war.
And that's full of facts 👍
16:06 We dismantle our rifles before every shooting exercise, they check that all the parts are functional & clean to prevent any accidents from happening. In this particular moment she is checking the rifle´s barrel to make sure it´s clean and there´s nothing stuck in there.
I have to say that I really enjoyed my stay at the military. At the first when I was at the call-up, I insisted that I didnt want to go to signal company. But there I was, cos I was an electrician. But anyway, learned a lot of all the different skills and found out that I am capable of performing pretty well even when I've had only a few hours of sleep for a long time of period. Overall it was good and proud to say, that we have this kind of military.
I think it’s a great idea for the USA
Me too. I was serving from 1988 to 1989 as a radio guerrilla (is that an accurate translation for "sissiradisti"?) and that was a really good time. My son is now serving in Tikkakoski and he has something like 140 mornings left :)
@@oh2mp Perhaps a Ranger Signalist?
You could watch the Swiss conscript army, it's a very interesting watch on how prepared Switzerland is even though they are a neutral nation
It was extremely effective, during the start of WW2 they were one of the most well prepared nations for war, even more so than the UK and France for conflict.
They get to be neutral because of their high level of preparedness.
A neutral country needs to be especially well prepared, because they've got no-one to back them up if they get attacked.
Vis pacem, para bellum
the mountaineous terrain could have some influence (check Afganistan)
It makes absolutely perfect sense to train all your nation in the Military lifestyle. It will teach them discipline, respect, a trade and patriotism. A lot of countries in the world do this. I would 100% support this for youth coming out of high school.
There is one benefit over conscript. As by law military test and trains "everyone", so they can also pick and choose best of best. As in drafting you have only what you get.
@15:54 they are on shooting range. After the shooting is done, you are commanded to dismantle the rifle, clean the trigger-base and pipe of the rifle. After you are done with that task, its been shown to the commanding officer and you can pack your gears. All this is pretty much for safety- and weapon caretaking reasons.
My 362 days in Finnish Defence Forces, was the best days of my life, afterwards!! Usually it was total nightmare, but nw almost 20 years later it was really good time!
I have mixed feelings on conscription here in the States. On one hand, it would be beneficial for teaching people valuable lessons they can take with them for life. On the other hand, I served with some guys who just didn't want to be there, for whatever reasons, and they where a drain on moral and had the tendency to be disruptive.
Plus, we have something like 3.5 million people turn 18 every year. The entire population of Finland is 5.5 million. Even if we only took 1 million conscripts per year we'd need almost WWII levels of mobilization to train that many people. It's not worth the drawbacks.
@@ridesharegold6659 great point, it would be a logistical nightmare!
Maybe not military service but some sort of government service. Like 2 years working as a mail carrier or as a clerk at the DMV or something. Give people some job experience outside of flipping burgers or waiting tables.
@@Heiryuu absolutely, something with real structure.
@@TheA.K. What? You'd make room for logistical nightmares, maybe certain natural disasters *cough hurricanes cough* wouldn't be such a problem if you had people trained in that?
Actually us conscripts and reservists look down upon the professionals since they apparently were such slow learners a year wasn't enough for them to figure it out. ;)
I thought reservist had more spunk. They could do their civilian jobs and bring those skills in the reserves which came in very handy in the field. Many were going to college too. Active duty seemed angry that they signed up and were treated like shit 24/7 in the USMC. Reservist in the usmc didn't burn out with all the BS. Active duty were jealous of reservist. (My view) My honorable discharge came from the Marine Corps just like theirs. I fulfilled my contract. And I've had plenty of jobs because of that discharge.
LMAO
@@EnjoyCocaColaLight alot of active duty Marines went into reserves. Alot of combat veterans stay in reserves. Reservist go to war. I did both active and reserves. Discharge comes from the IRR which are generally in the reserves. 4th Marine division is the biggest division in the Marines. Just saying. Also in WW2, 70% of the Marine Corps were reservist. 88% Navy were reservist. 3 of the Iwo Jima flag raisers including Ira Hayes were reservist. Pappy Boyington was a reservist. Lee Marvin a reservist. People honestly get a misconception about the reserves. Discharges come from the Marine Corps alike. So why do you laugh? What's so funny?.
@@comm2531 Reservists in here are usually very motivated to get back to service for a little while and leave normal civilian life behind. Professional soldiers(instructors) also give a lot of responsibility to reserve officers to lead their units on their own(which makes sense because this is main goal before moving to reserve) Also if reservists have to spend some time at the garrison, certain small rules are ignored. For example as a conscript you get absolutely yelled at if you fail to salute or nod(depending if you walked across this person indoors or outdoors) to anyone who has higher rank than you do and you are usually required to walk back and do it properly. Nobody really expects reservists to follow these same rules because everybody from instructors to reservists know we are not going to be there for long but we surely know what our task is so we don't need any extra bs.
@@macgyver112 let me get this straight. Everyone in Finland has mandatory service correct? And these are called conscripts correct? In the U.S. We called conscripts draftees during ww2, Korea, Vietnam wars. But draftees were drafted for 2 years of active duty service maybe depending on branch of service.
Are all your conscripts reservist? What is the total obligated time required in military service?
Our military is a volunteer force. You can either sign up in the reserves or on active duty but today when you go into military service regardless of active or reserves, theyve got you for 8 years of total military obligation. Depending on which contract you sign. For instance can be 4 × 4, (4 active 4 reserves) or (4 active 4 IRR or individual ready reserve). (8 straight active or reserves) either way they equate to giving Uncle Sam 8 years No matter how you sign the contract..
Note that times have changed. When I was in service it went by a six years total obligated service. Now it's been bumped up to 8 years probably 30 years ago.
We haven't had conscripted service since Vietnam war in the U.S..
When every man have to do some military training like here in Finland, the best thing about it IS that all of us are equal. When you have your military uniform on, If you have money or If you don't, it doesn't matter. Poor or rich, it doesn't matter. It is all about how well you do your military service and how well you get along with others.
In Australia we have a “gap year” program for high school graduates.
It’s a voluntary year of military training and service for the person to gain skills and help them decide what they want to do after high school.
Yeh they encourage them to go full time. But it also helps them get an idea of what they want after school ends.
Pea soup and pancake every thursday for lunch or dinner. It is a age old tradition and still going strong
same as swedes
Hernekeitto ja Pannari 👌👌
I couldn't eat pea soup for a whole year after my service... Nowadays it is different.
Load and secure we called that menu item. Pea soup having a certain effect to your digestion, you know... Hated it in common dormitories!
@@jarkkojuntunen5506 Varmistakaa takavaara-alue :)
Haha indeed "sufficient rest"
*Last 2 months of service*
*Max 4 hours of sleeping in the forest per day*
On average.. 😂 And they consider smoking your evening cigarette as sleeping
Yeah, haha, normal was 2 hours.
Sleep? What sleep.. Fastest animals in the woods need no sleep and cannot be caught, ask the military police trainees.. ;) 2/03 PKarPr/SissiK.
Sounds like highschool
Most nordic countries have or have had their defense forces based on conscripts. Mandatory military service plays a big part in building a united society. Through military service youngsters learn how to function in a group and it also serves to identify each solder in a group on a national level. Every one who has served will have one common experience wich greatly helps to establish some sort of national identity. In school you learn theory, in mandatory military service you learn life skills. I’m glad Sweden has reintroduced conscription!
Norway and Sweden have a LOT of territory to cover with a limited amount of people. Especially Norway with most of the country being steep (and narrow) mountain valleys combined with countless fjords.
Consription teaches you respect for authorities, dicipline and feeling of unity. Something everyone would need for their adult life. I served as eod specialist in Finnish army. Dicipline is strong, but your officers still respect you for your effort for the bigger picture.
All of those things are not by necessity good things, but conscription does teach you when they might be - everyone needs to know that
In my opinion it's the other way around. A peoples strong respert for authorities and sense of unity means conscription is a good idea. Suomessa on historiallisista syistä luotto viranomaisiin ja vahva yhteenkuuluvuuden tunne. Ilman näitä asevelvollisuudesta ei tulisi mitään kun kaikki niskuroisi ja kukaan ei jaksaisi intissä rääkätä itseänsä kun kukaan muukaan ei jaksa. Mielestäni tämä on yksi niistä syistä miksi esim usassa ei ole asevelvollisuutta kun niin moni suhtautuisi siihen niin negatiivisesti.
That gets prpblematic the moment the authorities don´t behave in a way that they deserve respect
2nd lieutenant reservist. My army time was really good. Learnt a lot also in managing people in general.
16:00 they are checking if the barrel is clean. Sort of an inspection before range day.
I was in the Finnish military for 1 year and I became the truck driver I wanted to be.
in the Finnish military, see them in your education and what knowledge you have and then you are put in the role that suits you best.
Greetings a corporal
"Sufficient rest" yeah... about that...
Everybody sees this video at the call-ups when you're 18. That's why it is so informative
My Granddaughter is dual US/Norwegian citizen age 20 and was drafted into the Norwegian Navy and then recruited into the Norwegian version of the Coast Guard. Awesome program. It was only 80 years ago they were invaded by the Nazi's, they learned from that experience.
These are the 3 main reasons Finland has a mandatory conscript army:
1.Russia
2.Russia
3.Russia
You forgot the 4th and the most important one tho, and that is Russia
@@ambassadorofreee3859 I forgot which was the name of the 5th country but it locates East from Finland.
Ukraine too
@@YokoTheCat lol
ahvenanmaa on kans merkittävä uhka. Ei voi ikin tietää millon ne hyökkää
Rangers and recon teams carry a pack of +100 pounds depending on special training. They move mainly on foot so they can travel hundreds of miles between missions. They also move longer distances on helicopters and on trucks. They also most of the time walk +100 miles in training between missions. Also they are self dependant so they can hunt their own food and order ammo drops and stay on a mission for a long time.
The service is voluntary for women and only handful of them participate
And yet they still do.
More and more by the year, the numbers are steadily increasing, it’s becoming quite popular among women
conscription is equal between men and women in sweden.
but the outcome is 17% women conscripts
@@AXXeYY Far more than in the US. And it was like yesterday that the gov didn't want to put women in harm's way.
I believe we crossed or are about to cross the 10000 women trained for the reserve this year. What I saw: its a while ago but they're were well motivated. Don't mind a bit serving with women, if you call pull your fair share you are more than welcome in my books.
Watching this and laughed along with you when the video mentioned "sufficient rest" :D that was great
Finland actually doesn't have a regular full-time military in the same sense as many other countries such as the US, UK, Canada, etc. The FDF has a relatively small cadre of full-time officers and NCOs. The enlisted personnel are all conscripts. During a crisis the military would be mobilized to its full strength by calling up the reservists. All in all, great videos! -greetings from a Finnish Army reservist.
It is an honor to serve our country and a we take pride in it. I know some people view soldiers in a negative light in some countries but from my own experience that is the exact opposite in Finland.
16:00 The video probably shows here the first time the new conscripts are going to shoot with live ammunition. The instructors will check the barrel of every rifle before they can be loaded with ammo because the rifles have been previously teared down and cleaned by the conscripts and there could be foreign objects in the barrel or some other risk. Finnish Defence Forces tries to make the training absolutely safe even when live ammunition is used.
Few things about our Finnish conscript:
1) As a man, you must do your military service at 18 yo or few years later. It can be real service, civil service or you might get C-papers (Relieved from service during the peace time).
2) Women still can do military service as volunteers but currently Finnish Department of Defense is thinking about putting womens into conscript too.
No matter which one gender you are, you must be mentally and physically qualified to join in service. Doesn't matter do you have some short of criminal background, they still got some usage for you.
Defending the country is Right because Russia is showing much more aggressive behaviour against European countries and is trying to rewrite the historical timeline since WW2. Compared to Russia, and remembering the Russian invasions of Krim, Finland is small country so every man and woman in Service makes a count.
Only exception is drugs. If you have drug history you are not qualified as it is seen a bit too much of a risk.
@@kotona123 or you are dangerous for service aka the T-papers
@Vanja Soskic Depends on your rank, pranch and tasks
@Vanja Soskic First 165 days are 5,15€ a day, days 166-255 are 8,60€ a day and days 256-347 are 12,00€ a day. So not much :D
@Vanja Soskic you don't get paid much, but you get a lot of perks such as fully paid rent, paternity leaves etc. Food, clothes and roof on top of your head are free of course too. You don't really do it for money. It's more like a duty you need to fulfill.
18:18 Assault rifle comes from the German weapon "Sturmgewehr 44" which basically means 'storm rifle' which was made during WW2
We had the whole training schedule pinned to a notification board from day one, where you could see all the exercices we had. Only the last few days were not action packed, it really is very efficient.
Also, the thing where they had half a rifle on their shoulder, thats how they check your weapon before firing drills. You take it apart and hold the rifle backwards on your right shoulder and your bolt over the left one, the instructor inspects them and either points out what needs cleaning or tells you to put it back together
I did my dyty in Finland as a finn. One year, training to do, what my great grandfather survived. Train was rough enough to learn, that war is hell. That's the point: Prepare what you wish not to have.
Combat engineer squad leader here, absolutely loved my time there, ofc there is the bad days but i was allways ready to serve my time 👍
The barrel inspection is a safety measure to check there are no obstructions in the barrel and also to spot wear/warp which might affect accuracy since they've been pulled from storage couple weeks ago. After the zeroing the sights and the shooting training the chambers are checked by the officer in charge. This is also a safety measure which is mandatory to perform after every range visit with the conscrips. Had the pleasure to receive antitank training with four different weapon systems. 1st ltn NCO squad leader.
I have been telling people for years that an American Foreign Legion would be a great fix for the immigration issue. Great Minds!!
Highly recommend a trip to Finland. You won’t regret it.
aww man... take the trip and visit the lakes of eastern finland.
Had a giggle where they said "sufficient rest". It was far from that. 😆
There's no mandatory military service as a part of mandatory conscript service but you're transferred directly to reserve after the boot camp and training and "final war" excercise is complete. You can opt to apply for military service / active duty as a job after your conscript service but that's just a job among others.