Finland Conscription and Reserve Duty
Unavailable
Summer and winter military exercises in Lapland
Courtesy General Headquarters, Finnish Defense Forces
All Finnish males were liable for military service
between
the ages of seventeen and sixty. The call-up for active
duty
normally occurred at the age of twenty, although students
could
postpone service until completion of their education. Over
90
percent of young men reaching military age actually
entered the
Defense Forces, a rate believed to be the highest of all
Western
countries. There had traditionally been three conscript
contingents during the course of a year, in February, in
June,
and in October, but in 1989 these were to be reduced to
five
call-ups every two years, owing to the decline in the
numbers
coming of age. For the same reason, the normal age for
entering
the service was to be reduced to nineteen. About 38,000
conscripts were trained annually, although the decreased
birth
rate would result in as few as about 26,300 inductees by
1993,
stabilizing at that level. As a consequence, the number of
reservists of all categories, which had been maintained at
about
700,000, would taper off to about 600,000 during the
1990s.
Prior to 1987, conscientious objectors had been
permitted to
serve in the military in a noncombatant capacity for
eleven
months, or in civilian social service for twelve months.
Legislation enacted in that year, however, required a
conscientious objector to serve in alternative civilian
service
for sixteen months, twice the length of minimum military
service.
A number of objectors, regarding the new law as a form of
punishment, did not accept these conditions, and they were
sentenced to prison terms.
Women were not accepted in the Defense Forces, although
the
tightened manpower situation had provoked discussion of
measures
to incorporate women into training programs on a voluntary
basis
to handle nonmilitary tasks in an emergency. About 7,000
women
were employed by the Defense Forces, mainly in clerical
positions
and as nurses. A considerable number were used by the air
force
as radar monitors in remote areas. Women employees wore
uniforms,
but they did not receive military training or carry
weapons and
had little opportunity for career advancement.
Conscripts were assigned upon induction to a particular
branch or corps of service, depending upon existing
personnel
requirements, although personal preferences were respected
to the
extent possible. The National Conscription Act of 1950 set
the
duration of service for ordinary conscripts at 240 days (8
months) and for reserve officers and NCOs at 330 days (11
months). Certain specialists and naval conscripts also
served for
330 days. About 48 percent of the total intake of
conscripts
served for the longer period. In 1988 the military
announced that
a separate category of weapons specialists would be
designated to
serve for nine and one-half months.
Service in the reserves was obligatory after the
completion
of active duty. For officers and NCOs, active reserve duty
continued until age sixty; and for others, until age
fifty. Those
who completed their active reserve obligation at age fifty
were
listed in class one of the auxiliary reserve until age
sixty when
all reserve obligations ended. Those exempted from active
duty on
grounds of disability were assigned to class two of the
auxiliary
reserve, and those aged seventeen to twenty without
military
training were listed in class three.
Until the late 1970s, annual training of reservists was
neglected because of budgetary pressures. Efforts were
underway
in the 1980s to improve the situation in order to
compensate for
the declining intake of conscripts and to ensure that
reservists
acquired some familiarity with the new and more complex
equipment
being introduced. The number of reservists undergoing
annual
training increased from 30,000 in 1979 to nearly 50,000 in
1988.
The relatively infrequent and brief periods of reserve
training
were still considered insufficient by some observers,
however.
They noted that Switzerland, although it required a
shorter
period of initial service, trained far more reservists
each year
by longer and more frequent refresher call-ups.
Troops assigned to the Fast Deployment Forces could
expect to
be called for refresher training at least every fifth
year; those
in some specialist categories were called up more often.
Other
reservists, generally those in higher age brackets, were
not
scheduled for training unless their assigned categories
were
changed. Call-ups were on a battalion basis, and
reservists
exercised their wartime tasks for a period of seven to ten
days.
The cumulative total period of active duty for reserve
officers
could not exceed 100 days; for reserve NCOs, 75 days; and
for
privates, 40 days.
Data as of December 1988
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