Santahamina is living up to Finland’s decision to intensify and expand the international training of the Defense Forces.
Troop advance in a queue inside the barracks representing the building to clear it from the enemy. In fact, only the different appearance of the weapons and the difference in tone in the color of the terrain suit reveal that the group includes both US infantry soldiers and Finnish conscripts of the Guards Jaeger Regiment.
The joint exercise in Santahamina is due to an increasingly aggressive Russia. Its latest attack on Ukraine prompted Finland to apply for NATO membership, which was followed in May by a decision by the Ministry of Defense on complementary training and exercise activities with partner countries, especially during the summer.
Co-operation between Finnish and US soldiers seems to be smooth.
The main goal is to show that Finland has the support of its partners even before NATO membership.
Russia, of course, has been a concern for years, which is why NATO and the United States decided to deploy reinforced forces in Eastern Europe. That is why the light infantry company of more than a hundred soldiers still training in Helsinki this week did not travel to Finland from their home base in Colorado, but from Poland.
In Santahamina and a senior lieutenant colonel in the United States practicing in Niinisalo Jacob Teplesky praises the hospitality of Finns and the training conditions from earth to heaven. But what does a professional army officer think about training with young conscripts?
Jacob Teplesky
“I think they’re military professionals,” the assessment goes.
According to Teplesky, the Americans have learned a lot from Finns during their visit.
Co-operation between Finnish and US soldiers seems to be smooth. Commander of the Guard Jaeger Regiment leading the exercise, Colonel Asko Kopran According to the company, a good example was a combat shooting with hard ammunition, in which the American company was supported by grenade launchers occupied by the Americans and Finns – and the fire was led by the Americans.
“Radio traffic and fire commands were conducted in English. In indirect fire, they have different shooting methods and scales, but even after one day of frame training, they were able to shoot safely. The fire was full and accurate, ”says Kopra.
Colonel Asko Kopra, Commander of the Jaeger Regiment of the Guard, has led a joint exercise between the Finns and the United States.
A native of Espoo Ella Liukkonen confirms that the joint training with foreign soldiers has also gone smoothly from the conscript’s point of view. According to the lieutenant in the contingency unit, the co-operation started rolling almost immediately because “the same things are being done”.
“The flap started flying immediately,” says Liukkonen.
He has not detected any prejudice from the guests, even though the conscripts are much younger than some of the U.S. soldiers.
Ministry of Defense the supplementary exercise plan added twenty new, changed, or partially revamped exercise events or frameworks to the calendar for this year.
According to Colonel Kopra, the most important part of the joint training is to see how the Americans do things on a martial arts level and to think about whether their best practices are suitable for use by Finns.
The angle of entry for the entire internship is also completely new, when the internship partner is someone other than another Finnish company, Kopra says. The use of a foreign language is also a challenge in itself, albeit quite a bit.
“I would guess those of our conscripts are time for you with that Englishman,” Kopra says.
An American soldier (right) taught a Finn to use the Carl Gustaf shovel.
The use of a foreign language did not prove to be an overwhelming challenge in the exercise.
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