Finnish Defence Forces
| Finnish Defence Forces |
|---|
| Military manpower |
| Military age | 18 years of age |
| Availability | males age 15-49: 1,262,526 (2000 est.) |
| Fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,041,795 (2000 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually | males: 34,651 (2000 est.) |
| Military expenditures |
| Dollar figure | $1.8 billion (FY98) |
| Percent of GDP | 2% (FY98) |
The Finnish Defence Forces (Finnish: Puolustusvoimat) consist of 34,700 persons in uniform (27,300 army; 3,000 navy; and 4,400 air force); the country's defense budget equals about 2% of GDP. There is universal male conscription under which all men serve from six to 12 months, although service for Jehovah's Witnesses is not mandatory and inhabitants of Åland have a different system in place. As of 1995, women were permitted to serve on a voluntary basis. A reserve force ensures that Finland can field 490,000 trained military personnel in case of need. The Defence Forces have a common in English.
The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President in matters related to military command.
Military doctrine: Self-defensive; independent defense of all of domestic territory; NATO Partnership for Peace affiliate; committed to pan-European (incl. Russia) treaty of trust-enhancing cooperation, such as providing access for international observers during major excercises.
Military branches
The Frontier Guard (Rajavartiolaitos) is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness.
Military Ranks
Carl Gustaf Mannerheim is the only person to hold the ranks of sotamarsalkka/fältmarskalk (Field Marshal) and later Suomen Marsalkka/Marskalk av Finland (Marshal of Finland).
History
The armed forces of an independent Finland were formed on January 25, 1918 when the White Guard were declared to be the governments troops.
After the Finnish Civil War the armed forces were organised after the German system. In February 1919 the White Guard became an independent organisation from the armed forces.
After the Winter War and the Continuation War the strength of the Finnish Army was limited to 34,400 men, the Navy to 4,500 men and a maximum displacement of 10,000 tonnes for ships. The Air Force was limited to 3,000 men and 60 planes. Also certain weapons such as guided missiles, submarines, proximity mines, torpedo boats, bombers with internal bomb racks and any weapons of German origin were forbidden. Later "defensive" missiles were allowed, rest of the restrictions were lifted by president Mauno Koivisto when the Soviet Union collapsed.
UN peacekeeping operations
Finland has taken part in UN peacekeeping operations cince 1956 and 43,000 Finnish peacekeepers have taken part so far. In 2003 over 1000 persons took part. According to Finnish law a maximum of 2000 peacekeepers can serve at the same time.
Since 1996 the Pori brigade has trained a jaeger battalion, the Finnish Rapid Deployment Force (FRDF), which can take part in crisis management operations at short notice.
Finnish participation in UN peacekeeping operations as of June 2004:
Source: http://tietokannat.mil.fi/rauhanturvaajat/ops.php3
See also : Finland, Finnish Jaeger troops, White Guards
