Conscription in Finland

Conscription can take the form of military or of civilian service. According to Finnish Defence Forces 2011 data, slightly under 65% of Finnish males turned 30 had entered and finished the military service. The number of female volunteers to annually enter armed service had stabilized at approximately 300. The service period is 165 days, 255 days, or 347 days for the rank and file conscripts and 347 days for conscripts trained as non-commissioned officers or reserve officers. The length of civilian service is always twelve months. Those electing to serve unarmed in duties where unarmed service is possible serve either nine or twelve months, depending on their training.

Any Finnish citizen who refuses to perform both military and civilian service faces a penalty of 173 days in prison, minus any served days. Such sentences are usually served fully in prison, with no parole. Jehovah's Witnesses are no longer exempted from service as of February 27, 2019. The inhabitants of demilitarized Åland are exempt from military service. By the Conscription Act of 1951, they are, however, required to serve a time at a local institution, like the coast guard. However, until such service has been arranged, they are freed from service obligation. The non-military service of Åland islands has not been arranged since the introduction of the act, and there are no plans to institute it. The inhabitants of Åland islands can also volunteer for military service on the mainland. Dual nationals of Finland and another country can also be exempted if they either complete at least 4 months of military service in another country, or have resided overseas for at least 7 years and do not move back to Finland before the age of 29.

Since 1995, women have been permitted to serve on a voluntary basis and pursue careers in the military after their initial voluntary military service.

The military service is served in Finnish Defence Forces or in the Finnish Border Guard. All services of the Finnish Defence Forces train conscripts. However, the Border Guard trains conscripts only in land-based units, not in coast guard detachments or in the Border Guard Air Wing. Civilian service may take place in the Civilian Service Center in Lapinjärvi or in an accepted non-profit organization of educational, social or medical nature.

Military service

The Finnish Defence Forces are based on universal male conscription. All men above 18 years of age are liable to serve either 165, 255 or 347 days. Yearly, about 27,000 conscripts are trained. About 80% of Finnish male citizens complete the service. Thus, Finland has one of the highest rates of conscription, along with such countries as Singapore, Israel, Armenia, South Korea, Turkey, Estonia, and North Korea. The conscripts first receive basic training (6 weeks), after which they are assigned to various units for special training. Privates who are trained for tasks not requiring special skills serve for five and a half months. In technically demanding tasks, the time of service is eight and a half months or (in some cases, such as those selected for NCO or officer training) eleven and a half months.

All males are liable to report at the drafting event (Finnish: kutsunnat, Swedish: uppbåd) of their municipality in the autumn of the year they turn 18. The Finnish Defence Forces sends the youth an official invitation to the event along with an information package. Prior to the drafting event, the male is required to visit a municipal doctor for a physical examination. The drafting event is held simultaneously for all males of the age cohort of the municipality. In cities where this would be unfeasible, the age cohort is divided to different days based on the first letters of surname. The drafting event consists of a number of lectures, after which a doctor appointed by the municipality gives each male a physical examination. After the check-up, the youth meets the draft board in person. The draft board consists of two officers from the military regional office and one civilian appointed by the municipality. The youth can express his wishes for a service location, branch of service and the time of induction. After this, the board decides whether the youth is fit for service. If he is not, he is exempted completely or temporarily. Those fit for service are given an order of induction that determines their place of service and time of induction, or if necessary, a letter of delayed service. It is also possible for the youth to elect national service in front of the draft board. The decision of the draft board to give an induction order or to give a declaration of unfitness for service can be appealed against to the Central Draft Board which has five legally trained members and two members who have a minimum rank of lieutenant colonel. The decision of the Central Draft Board is final.

The draft board uses a system of six grades (only five of which are in active use) to determine the draftee's fitness for duty:

• A: Completely healthy, fit for all duty
• B (1, 2): Minor or major disability
• C: Exempt from duty during peacetime
• D: Exempt from duty during wartime and peacetime, not in use anymore
• E: Temporarily exempt from duty (short-term illness, injury, or impairment etc.)
• T: Exempt from duty during peacetime, decided by draft board instead of by medical diagnosis (for violent or hostile behaviour, criminal past etc.)

Those who fail to report to the drafting event are fetched to the event by the police. If they are not found, they are given an order to report to the military regional office and, if necessary, brought there for an examination and drafting by the police. In addition, they will be prosecuted and sentenced to a fine. Those residing abroad can report to the nearest Finnish embassy for medical examination and drafting.

The conscripts are inducted twice a year, in January and in July. The order of induction received from the draft board is binding: The conscript becomes a military person on the hour stated in the order even if he is absent from service. Not reporting to the service is prosecuted as an absence without leave or as desertion.

The basic training takes place during the first six weeks. At the end of the basic training, the actual training specialty and consequently the service time are decided by the brigade commander on the recommendation of the company commander. Those ordered for leadership training attend next the NCO course. After the seven-week phase I of the course, a portion of the students are sent to Reserve Officer School or an equivalent institution for officer training, while the remaining NCO students complete the 12-week phase II of the NCO course. At the same time, the rank and file receive the specialized training of their branch, often at the same company as they underwent their basic training. After completion of their NCO or reserve officer training, the new conscript leaders are sent to normal units to serve as the leaders for the next incoming conscript cohort. The NCOs serve as corporals (in the Navy, petty officers 3rd class), with the possibility of promotion to sergeant (petty officer 2nd class). Those who have graduated Reserve Officer School or equivalent serve as officer candidates, ranking junior to career personnel but outranking conscript sergeants. At the end of their service, officer candidates are promoted to second lieutenants (in the navy, sublieutenants). Privates have a possibility of being promoted to lance corporal (in the navy, seaman) for extraordinarily good service. The service times are determined so that the conscript leaders are demobilized with the rank and file of that cohort. After discharge, the conscripts retain their ranks as inactive reserve ranks.

After their military service, the former conscripts are placed in reserve until the age of 50 or 60, depending on their military rank. During their time in reserve, the reservists are liable for activation for five types of duty:

• mandatory military refresher exercises (Finnish: kertausharjoitus) for a maximum of 40, 75 or 100 days, depending on the reservist's military rank;
• extraordinary activation during a large-scale disaster or a virulent epidemic;
• extraordinary activation (Finnish: ylimääräinen palvelus) if the military threat against Finland has seriously increased;
• partial mobilization (Finnish: osittainen liikekannallepano);
• full mobilization (Finnish: yleinen liikekannallepano).

The males who do not belong to the reserve may only be activated in case of a full mobilization, and those rank-and-file personnel who have fulfilled 50 years of age only with a specific parliamentary decision. In addition to the mandatory refresher exercises, the reservist may be activated for voluntary exercises, but participation in these is, as name suggests, voluntary. However, when the reservist answers affirmatively to a voluntary activation request, he becomes an active member of the military for the duration of the exercise, with the same rights and obligations as a mandatorily activated reservist, though with only an allowance corresponding to the conscript's lowest allowance. The reservists who have been activated mandatorily for any reason receive a taxable pay of 58.85–64.50 euros per diem, based on their rank, and a tax-free allowance corresponding to the lowest conscript's allowance. Similarly to the induction, an activated reservist becomes a military person at the moment when he was ordered to report to service. Disobeying an activation order is prosecuted as an absence without leave or as desertion, depending on the length of absence.

Military service can be started after turning 18, but can be delayed due to studies, work or other personal reasons until the age of 29. In addition to lodging, food, clothes and health care, the conscripts receive a tax-free allowance of between €5.10 and €11.90 per day, depending on the time they have served. In addition to the basic allowance, conscripts serving as parachutists, divers or pilots receive danger bonuses of 10-20 euros per jump or day of diving or, for pilots, 182 euros per month.

The state pays the conscript's rent and electricity bills. If the conscripts have families, they are entitled to benefits as well. Reservists are eligible for similar support only if the total income of reservist's family from all sources is below a certain, rather low, limit. It is illegal to fire an employee due to absence due military service or due to a refresher exercise or activation. Voluntary females in military service receive the same benefits as males and a small additional benefit, because they are expected to provide their own underwear and other personal items.

Military service consists of lessons, practical training, various cleaning and maintenance duties, and field exercises. The wake-up call is usually at 05:30, and a day's typical duty lasts for 12 hours, including meals and some breaks. In the evening there are a few hours of free time. Roll call is at 21:00, and at 22:00 silence is announced, after which no noise is to be made. On a majority of weekends, conscripts can leave the barracks on Friday and are expected to return by midnight on Sunday evening. A small force of conscripts is kept in readiness on weekends to aid civil agencies in various types of emergency situations, to guard the premises, and to maintain defense in case of a sudden military emergency. Field exercises can go on regardless of the time of day or day of week. An average conscript spends 40–60 nights outdoors during field exercises, depending on his unit.

The training of conscripts is based on the joukkotuotanto principle (lit. English troop production). In this system, 80% of the conscripts train to fulfill a specific role in a specific wartime military unit. Each brigade-level unit has a responsibility of producing specified reserve units from the conscripts it has been allocated. As the reservists are discharged, they receive a specific wartime placement in the unit with which they have trained during their conscription. As the conscripts age, their unit is given new, different tasks and material. Typically, reservists are placed for the first five years in first-line units, then moved to military formations with less demanding tasks, while the reservists unable to serve in the unit are substituted with reservists from the reserve without specific placement. In refresher exercises, the unit is then given new training for these duties if the defense budget permits.