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Finnish Defence ForcesThe Finnish Defence Forces (Finnish: Puolustusvoimat) consist of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 army, 3,000 navy, and 4,400 air force). Finland's defence budget equals about 2% of the GDP. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve from 6 to 12 months, although service for Jehovah's Witnesses is not mandatory and inhabitants of land have a different system in place. Also a 13-month-long non-military service is possible. As of 1995, women were permitted to serve on a voluntary basis. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. Finland can mobilize 490,000 trained military personnel in a crisis situation. The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. At the moment (October 2004) Chief of Defence is Admiral Juhani Kaskeala. Military doctrine: Self-defensive; independent defence 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 exercises. In 2005 the Finnish defence ministry announced a cost-cutting plan. The Helsinki Air Defence Regiment in Hyryl and the Savo Brigade in Mikkeli will be disbanded in 2007. At the same time Kotka Coastal Command will be disbanded and it's duties will be taken over by other units. 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 Emil Mannerheim is the only person to have held the ranks of sotamarsalkka/fltmarskalk (Field Marshal) and later Suomen Marsalkka/Marskalk av Finland ("Marshal of Finland"). The rank of sotamies is not actually given to new recruits anymore, although it was used before. The lowest rank is named after the task; the generic rank is jkri (Jaeger), but artillery has tykkimies (artilleryman), communications has viestimies (signaller), Guard Jaeger Battalion has kaartinjkri, and so on. Old ranks that are not used anymore include: ylivpeli/verfltvbel (a rank between Chief Warrant Officer and Warrant Officer), kornetti (Second Lieutenant in the cavalry), ratsumestari (a cavalry Captain), prikaatinkenraali (old form for prikaatikenraali) and lentomestari. The ranks of the warrant officers (vpeli, sotilasmestari) fall into disuse, because the training of new NCO's was ended in 2001, and those who have recently graduated from the academy usually hold the rank of a Second Lieutenant or a Lieutenant. Those who hold the ranks of vpeli or sotilasmestari are soon to be retired. From 2001 on, the National Defence College trains all new officers, which are all commissioned. All NCO ranks are, however, still used for NCO's promoted in the reserve (the highest ranks for conscripts at the end of their mandatory service are lance corporal, sergeant and second lieutenant). History The armed forces of the independent Finland were formed on January 25, 1918 when the White Guard were declared to be the official troops of the government. After the Finnish Civil War the armed forces were organised according to the German system. In February 1919 the White Guard separated from the armed forces and became an independent organisation. After the Winter War and the Continuation War (two of the three wars Finland fought in the World War II) 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. All of the restrictions were unilaterally lifted by president Mauno Koivisto when the Soviet Union collapsed. UN peacekeeping operations Finland has taken part in UN peacekeeping operations since 1956, resulting in total of 43,000 Finnish peacekeepers during that time. In 2003 over a thousand Finnish peacekeepers were involved in UN operations. According to the Finnish law the maximum simultaneous strength of the peacekeeping forces is 2000 soldiers. Since 1996 the Pori brigade has trained a special 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 Jger troops, White Guards External links Finland
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