Finnish 🇫🇮 soldiers train NATO Allies in winter survival skills

[@Jansmaaa]

Sodankylä is a great place to learn what the cold is like. I did my service there in 2010. Story: It was our first ski march, just a short 8 km. (5 miles) It was -20 degrees outside. (-28 °F) I put on way too much clothing and was sweating heavily. After the march, we had lunch outside and the plan after that was to set up tents and a perimeter, defenses etc. practice. I ate still with my now wet inner clothing for 5 minutes and by that time I were already shivering. Another 5 minutes after that and I was really cold. Some other team had started their march earlier and had already set up tents. (The tents are these large tents that can easily fit 12+ people inside) I went inside one of the tents and started undressing to change into dry clothing. My hands were so frozen I couldn't even undo my zipper on my jacket anymore. I had to go out and get a friend to help me undress. 🤣 Another smaller story: Some months later we had practice shooting with rpg's. We used these practice rounds which was just a tracer round so you could see where the shot went, adjust and learn. It was -42 celsius. (-43.6 °F) When it was my turn to fire, I took my big warm gloves off so that I could actually manage to use my fingers pull the trigger. I pressed the launcher firmly to my cheek, aimed and fired. The metal from the launcher managed to freeze a spot on my cheek and I got a nice red patch for the remainder of the week.

[@NATO]

Thank you for sharing your stories! It's great to hear firsthand experiences from someone who trained in such extreme conditions.

[@accelerator2833]

Ahh Sodankylä 1/16 ensimmäisenä ampumarata päivänä tammikuussa - 42 celsiusta, ammunnat suoritettiin M05 kesätakeissa. 🥶😬 Se päivä ei unohdu koskaan, ainakaan pakkasen osalta.

[@peka2478]

...dont you have "military mittens" (or whatever they are called) where three fingers are in one pocket, but you can move the thumb (for gripping things) and the index finger (for using triggers)?

[@finowa]

"Be bold, start cold"! Before I heard that I was routinely overdressing in the winter 😃

[@Tmaget]

Thanks for sharing.

[@thegunslinger1363]

I was in Finland in December last year. The Finnish people are incredibly reserved and polite. I'd gladly visit again. Kiitos :).

[@Unformed8]

They are only reserved until you find something they are really interested in and then they'll excitedly talk your ear off

[@unknownentity8256]

@@Unformed8 Well some but I wouldn't say this to be true in a "small talk" situation, but if you go for a beer, or even better beer and sauna, now we are talking.

[@magentaMegi]

I was in Finland in October 2024. I love the Finnish spirit culture food and music 🎶

[@magentaMegi]

​@Unformed8 this is true 👍

[@borali26]

I was in Finland more than 30 times! Including Lapland where they made this training, its the Santa Claus land there. At the end of the year, Santa receives tons of letters. In summer timer you can visit the fort located in Helsink and eat fish near the port. Highly reccomend it.

[@larserikertzgaardringen7426]

As a Norwegian Army Soldier, my Suomi brothers in the East is possibly the only soldiers in the world that i respect when it comes to Winter warfare. I am glad that we finally are Brothers in Arms.

[@mantelikukkapenkki2368]

Norway is by far the best neighbor anyone could wish for. We have never had any problems between us (if "Saint" Olaf in the year 1008 doesn't count) You lent us Max Manus in the winter war and wanted to give us a mountain in honor of our 100 years of independence because we don't have any. A f**king mountain, how nice is that? Much love from Finland 🥰

[@lightningrider5849]

I would bet that Finnish soldiers also benefit for training in Norway. Terrain is quite different. The fact is that threat to Nato comes from Russia and it has both terrain types.

[@lintu25]

We Finns are glad that you are on our neighbor. What if you sell us little bit of your land and we can access to the northern sea? That way you don't got Russian border anymore? What you say?

[@Mozzarella-and-Tomato]

@@mantelikukkapenkki2368 Aw how wholesome, love from Norway🏔

[@dagnom9071]

@@lightningrider5849 Sure but Russians would never attack on land in norway. That just wouldn’t work because of the mountains.

[@randomowykolegazinternetu]

*Terveisiä Puolasta suomalaisille veljillemme.*

[@GoofyGoober713]

I z Finlandii do Polaków.

[@infernalstormrider]

🇫🇮🇵🇱💪

[@tomsilven]

Kiitos.

[@northscrow9316]

Bądźcie silni!

[@lespaul204]

We Finns are grateful for Poland's significant contribution to Europe's security.

[@babayaga211]

I admire Finns, very brave man kind, theyve got no fear against bigger enemies. Greeting from Ukraine

[@panthersherman453]

Love Finland and highly respect them. Glad to have these cold folks with us. Respekt and amen from The United States 🇺🇸🇫🇮

[@eyedee12345]

Thank you finland. You will always be our sister & brother. We might fight in hockey games, but if it comes to war. We will be your back. Always. /Sweden

[@Kalansilmaa]

To those who don't know, using skis might seem like an ancient outdated method of travel with all the mechnized equipment we have nowadays. But this is the wilderness where there are no roads and the snow can be a meter deep. Operating in these conditions, skis really are one of the best ways to travel.

[@petter5721]

Skis are great and far better than snow shoes👍🏻 Do not forget the pulka 😀

[@CheriTheBery]

Yeah, you can't move at all, except maybe by crawling if the weather allows and snow condition is correct. Otherwise you'll just sink in and need to use like 20 times more energy to move. That's why skis are still essential in arctic warfare during winter.

[@TheRomanRuler]

Ski troops also have tiny heat signature and logistical foot print, and very small literal foot print as well. Very useful in sparsely populated areas

[@peka2478]

Also, no fuel cost, no extra heat, (almost) no extra noise.. skis are great!

[@Garbox80]

They're also a quite quiet trasportation method. I recall reading that in Winter War Finns were able to get pretty close to some Soviets time to time with skis. And compared to walking/running in snow, skis are rediculously faster.

[@RockerFinland]

The hypothermia test of the Finnish Forces in the Gulf of Finland Naval Command was quite brutal (this seems to be an easier level but still quite similar). At first, it's just feeling cold (not a problem), then it feels like it's impossible to breath and to move (hard to describe the feeling), then it suddenly felt very warm and it was time to get up because it was almost the fatal level. Then we had to re-assemble a weapon before we were allowed to go inside a warm house. We were not allowed to lie down for a while because cold blood might stop the heart. I've done a lot of ice swimming (that's nothing compared to the hypothermia test)

[@JP-lz6gc]

Im surprised they let you inside to warm up. We were told there could be complications if you do that. This was a similar test to what you are describing, but at the end we had to get dressed in the cold and start moving around.

[@TheGrace020]

BADASS!

[@jauho7483]

What is the hypothermia test like? If it's nothing compared to the ice swimming

[@finlandais-j7y]

This is not customary among all the Finnish military because of very obvious health issues that could follow the prolonged cold exposure. They rehearse this with specialized units.

[@omppuplays7147]

@@jauho7483 Sano että jää uinti ei oo mitään verrattuna hypotermia testiin

[@Valokaari]

So to our American allies watching this. If you are wondering how north this place is, it is about 500 miles north of Anchorage.

[@riku3716]

Our south coast/capital is roughly at the level of Anchorage / the peninsula under Anchorage.

[@dukeofwolves1139]

As someone from the southern US, I can't even imagine living in that for a day

[@jauho7483]

Yeah, but you really cannot compare latitudes 1:1 between US and Finland, because Gulf Stream brings warm water and air to Europe

[@ImmaTazeYou]

@@jauho7483 Jep, parina päivänä tainnu olla pakkasta tänä talvena. 🤫

[@unknownentity8256]

It's above the arctic circle, that also helps to understand how up north this is, the Arctic Sea is not far from here either, and it's higher up to the North pole then Iceland. It's a cruel but beautiful peaceful environment to train in, I enjoyed my stay there, but would rather not go back, memories I'll remember for life.

[@coolirliswear9548]

Glad to have our allies here. Thank you to the allied soldiers for being so cordial and polite. Respect from Finland!

[@MrHoodlum420]

So happy to have the Finnish as our allies! Welcome friends!

[@Ed-ts7sq]

Vielen Dank für eueren Dienst!

[@viliussmproductions]

Glad to have these guys as neighbours and as allies

[@user-irj1nxa3cof2z]

It’s a great honor to have the Finns in NATO alliance. Shoutout to Finland 🇦🇱🇫🇮

[@1Jenny]

Love, respect and gratitude to impressive Finland, they have such a powerful and dedicated military brimming with intelligence, patience and responsibility...this comes from within Finnish people, deeply, and shines beautifully in all they do!

[@Hanzzon91]

Respekt från grannlandet Sverige! Ser er som en broder från en annan moder 🇸🇪🇫🇮 Inte bara delar vi historia tillsammans, jag hade delat med mig av mitt blod för er.

[@mikaseppanen1632]

Bröder o Mammor alltid.. Kommer dom så... Så Dödar vi Dom..

[@jvalfin3359]

Respect to the NATO troops who weren't used to the extreme cold and came to train with us here in Finland!

[@EEX97623]

Soome naabrid on imelised, tervitused vanalt sõbralt Eestist.

[@infernalstormrider]

🇫🇮🇪🇪💪

[@Finnic94]

🇫🇮❤🇪🇪

[@skebaba918]

Hahaha I could almost understand all of that (more or less), but had to hit the translate because of "sõbralt" 😂

[@Mick-c1k]

tervitused teile eesti vennad

[@puhistagram]

Aitäh vend 🇫🇮🇪🇪

[@Artho135]

People need to be on that kind of a environment to understand how brutal those kind of weather conditions are. It can totally paralyze the troops and soldiers if you are not prepared, weather can become your worst enemy or best friend.

[@JiihaaS]

Yes. Winter war is a sad example of this, as tons of soviet soldiers literally froze to death because of the lack of proper equipment and training. It helped in defending Finland of course, but it must've been a brutal way to go.

[@villerantavalli9395]

@@JiihaaS Germans too... There's a reason why 100 000 Germans were unable to reach Murmansk from Norway in 3 years but Finnish troops blew up the railway between Murmansk and Leningrad several times and the only reason it wasn't taken under Finnish control in the summer of -41 was the political pressure from United states. Even the famed German falchrimjäger were out of their depth in Lapland winter.

[@Denema123]

There's no such thing as bad weather, it's just inadequate clothing.

[@martavdz4972]

Agreed. I travelled in Latvia in -20 degrees and it was totally OK... till I stopped moving for three seconds. And I'll never forget their special kind of ground covering near the coast, a tasty recipe consisting of snow + ice + mud + beach sand + water. It wasn't walking, I never knew whether I was sliding, wading, slushing through or sinking.

[@petter5721]

Winter is the soldiers first enemy. Once you master it, it can be your friend. Greetings from Sweden 🇸🇪💕🇫🇮

[@vix182]

Respect to our Finnish brothers from Denmark!

[@Ukbrummie]

Respect to the fins 💪

[@tobiasalbrechtson1777]

So glad we have the Fins in the family now🇫🇮

[@skenaari]

Respect to those guys who has no idea what freezing to death means to your body. They must be really afraid of this experience. Good respectful coaching there.

[@IbrahimTWH]

finland is such a beautiful european country 😁 huge love to finland from the philippines 🇵🇭💖🇫🇮

[@grumpyfinn]

finnish american dual citizen living in finland.... did my conscript service in 2001.

[@peabase]

I did mine as a Finnish Dutchman in 1986-87. I stayed on as a 'summer sergeant' and did foreign tours with UNIFIL and KFOR. I'm still in the reserves for a few more years.

[@kallehermeling8444]

​@@peabase How was it? As a half Dutch/half Finn who didn't do his service at 18, i kind of regret it. I am still thinking about doing it at 26 years old. Would you recommend it?

[@photoo848]

Soon it won't be only Finnish that the snow will be speaking. Thank you NATO for sharing knowledge & skills throughout our security forces

[@VonArmagedda]

*Snow begins to speak finnish* Russian soldier: Hah! You can't fool me! *Snow begins to speak english too* Russian soldier: Huh?!

[@jan-ovepedersen5764]

Temps in the interior northern Finland, Sweden and Norway can be brutally cold. I did my service in the Norwegian Army, we had -42C /-44F at our week long winter excercise. We made it with out too much hassle. The guys from the southern part of Norway were not used to cold temps. For the guys from the northern regions of Troms and Finnmark it was just normal winter weather. My take on living in very cold climate, you just can't get wet, not even sweathy. If you do you have to make sure you dry up immediately. If you stay wet you can easily die from hypothermia. Where I live temps can go down to -30C/-15F with gail force winds, temps easily gets into -60C to -70C with the wind chill effect. We practiced digging snow caves as a mean to survive in such conditions. You have to get out of the wind, or else you die. Great to see our neighbors in Finland training with the allies. I'm very happy that Finland and Sweden joined Nato. My unit hosted military personell from the UK and the USA during my time in the Army. Greetings from Norway. BTW my ancestors came from Oulu in Finland some 170 years ago 🙂

[@MikBar-nj8jq]

Finland 👍🇫🇮❤️

[@djarcsine]

Hi, fellow Americans. While you're here, please go read up on the Winter War. The Finns are absolute BEASTS, and having them on our side is huge.

[@AQArchive]

They seem to be a bit nicer to foreign soldiers. When I did the cold plunge we had to solve math problems, answer geography questions and at last request for permission to get out of there. I was probably in for about 3-4 minutes. Very nice to after that start digging for dry clothes in your backpack and run around in circles.

[@tubalcain1039]

The Finns fought off the Soviets.

[@babaiker]

4 times, btw

[@donquixote1502]

I did my winter training in Sweden 1978/1979. It was an extremely cold winter with temperatures well below -30C (-22F) I remember this training as cold and fun.

[@briancollins9977]

as a traveller finland is up there at the top for the best places to go,, like scandinavia as a whole.....just so much culture and hundreds of miles forests and lakes and outdoor activites that as a brit myself i love .....

[@saldussapnai3464]

Proud of Fins frome Lithuania🇱🇹💯💪 Much respect planing to try do warm ups in cold weather and lake too. Its healty and makes you resistent to beeing lazy allso🇫🇮🎅

[@rokas_stulga]

yes, but our winter became some sort of weird winter without snow and we even have quiet a lot of rain now. its almost like UK type of climate, but a little bit colder actually, UK now is getting loads of snow while we have rain :D ps. talking about Lithuania here.

[@Evelyn-u9x]

All my support and major respect, from Holland.

[@mursuheikkinen4673]

January 1999 will never be forgotten. We completed a 20 km ski march and camped in the countryside. The temperature reached -49C. During the night shift, our fingers were almost frozen.

[@patrickwhite1826]

Lived in Helsinki for a couple of years as a kid. The Finns are uniquely qualified for this stuff. Plus, they've already got a proud history of fighting Russia.

[@riku3716]

Think about it like this. When Russia/USSR attacked Finland, the wi ter was on Finnish side. Not sure if that has happened to Russia with any other country. Just ask French and Germans.

[@newera478]

Helsinki and Lapland have very different types of winters. Temperature and humidity levels are pretty much the opposite in both places. And that in turn calls for different kind of an approach to surviving.

[@djarcsine]

Lapland is NO JOKE. It's absolutely shocking how exhausting just existing there can be.

[@bliblablubb9590]

The home terrain advantage is a huge factor in my opinion. Growing up in a certain terrain, be it marshes, hills, mountains, flat plains or even cities. We humans develop an innate sense and intuition for how to move and orient ourselves. There is so much information that becomes so basic, we tend to not even know we are using it. Once I went trecking offroad with a foreign friend and and I disagreed with the path he wanted to take. When he wanted to know why, I could say him, that I expected the place to be swampy, but couldn't tell him why. He told me I had no way of knowing that from so far away. But I just somehow knew. Later I realized what it was. There were typical white flowers that only grow on marshy ground. Somehow I had that information in my brain, would have reacted based on that, but had never actually thought about it consciously.

[@Aspett0]

Much respect and many thanks to the Finnish soldiers, the toughest winter warriors there are.

[@arattactician5697]

Glad to see that we can offer valuable training to our international brethren and seemingly in great spirit as well!

[@very_nice_gaming]

0:16 As a swede I think it's a human right to touch skis.

[@jakinfoto1]

As a Dane I thank the Allfather for the fact that the Swedes, Norwegians and Finns know how to ski … So we don’t have to 😃 GO FINLAND, GO…!!!👍👍👍

[@Theolddaysaregone]

I am grateful for every single soldier we have in NATO!

[@xYarbx]

My hats of to people who come to to my home turf and take the challenge. It can sometimes be hard for someone that's done this all their life so trying to adjust in couple of weeks must be hell but like we say "what does not kill you, makes you pissed off" and there is nothing like battalion of angry NATO troops barreling towards you.

[@craigcooknf]

It is astounding that some of these guys have hardly seen snow before let alone have ever been on skis! From the crotch pot cooking hot swamps of Indiana to a hole in a frozen lake 120 km from the Arctic circle!!! Incredible!

[@Sequence0]

Did my service in 2022. Got to spend alot of times with the us army. Great folks

[@maiaalavidze8817]

Love Finland and respect them.

[@RGGaming940]

me in australia just watching from the opposite side the globe: 🤔

[@rokas_stulga]

bro they need to send Australian army guys to Finland! 😅 it would be interesting to watch how they deal with cold. and then send Finnish guys to Australia during summer to run around hehe

[@KoteDarasuum]

My unit back in the day had Australian dual citizen serving in Finland, it was quite a change of enviroment for him :D

[@lpi3]

​@rokas_stulgaAustralian nature is not less brutal then Finland's winter

[@Jarkkopauk1917]

@rokas_stulga hhaha bro dw we go to sauna regularly 3-5 times a week for 210 degrees farenheit for 10-20 minutes before going to sleep, we are used to very hot aswell!

[@Jarkkopauk1917]

and when its summer I start day with cold showers to not forget how to tolerate the cold hahha

[@kimmorepo6870]

Skiing is lots of fun. You can go to places that otherwise would not be reachable. However, getting soaking wet in -30 C means death in hours unless you have dry clothes to change or a warm place to get well again. This is valid for all nationalities.

[@villeniskanen6948]

I was lucky to train up to over -40 C myself on my time. 2 weeks outdoors at that cold was experience that I will never forget.

[@acdele]

I did my service time at Sodankylä 1998 and oh-boy this brought some memories of those long forest trips when it was -50C. Proper layer clothing was crucial to avoid frostbites and it was better to clean all oil from RK 62 to keep it fully functional

[@T1hitsTheHighestNote]

The human body can withstand more than most people think. This course is about learning about coping with the cold. Did my winter soldier course in the Swedish army 24 year ago, knowledge I've had use for ever since.

[@SkyForceOne2]

it can withstand it, IF it is prepared/used to it. the human body can also give out from the most miniscule things

[@brent954]

Kiitos, 🇺🇸 🇫🇮

[@inimene3796]

Poor airforce guy probably having his first ever field day, in the worst possible conditions 💀

[@mt4592]

Those were exellent conditions.

[@newera478]

​@@mt4592 Agreed. That looks like an awesome winter day.

[@matiashamalainen]

Kivaa nähdä Aikio yhä hommissa! Erittäin pätevä ja asiallinen kaveri.

[@nivek5031]

Well, that's me! I'm Finnished!

[@barbaracrosland3150]

Much love to our NATO allies in Finland

[@JoeyKnifeInnovations]

I remember our water crossing test in the middle of winter minus -26'C degrees celsius. Its something i remember well. I was in the Finnish armored reconnaissance and the training was pretty harsh even thou I was young and extremely fit for it. I dont wonder that our Nato brothers from the US are impressed about Finnish winter conditions. Its something one must take seriously.

[@annehersey9895]

I hope the Finns also have a chance to train in July in Louisiana or Florida and that gawdawful humidity where you are worn out after 15 minutes!

[@Torsteen-p3d]

Funnily enough, despite the winters being cold enough to occasionally dip below -40, the record high temperature in Summer in Finland is 37,2 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit), and we also get some pretty huge thunderstorms and heavy rain every summer, which really feeds humidity. Some places get cold winters, some get hot and humid summers, Finland is one of those "lucky" places that gets both

[@mikaseppanen1632]

That would be Wounderfull..They have to learn all..

[@finnishculturalchannel]

That sounds almost like sauna. There are around three million saunas in Finland. Population is around 5,6 million. Only in sauna the temperature is typically at least 85°C/185°F and water is thrown on hot rocks to create humidity. Humidity is around 70-85%. And as it happens, 'Sauna' is the only Finnish word in English language. Also, relative to the landmass, Finland is the swampiest country in the world. And one of the most forested and with most water areas. During the summer temperature can rise above 30°C/86°F. During winters the temperature can drop below -40°C/-40°F. And Finns travel the most per capita in the world-often to warmer regions like Mediterranean and Asia. On top of those, the largest Finnish community in the US, the 25 000 Finns, lives in Miami. On the other hand, there are no alligators or large snakes in Finland. We have one venomous snake and of course the obvious mosquitoes. If you are interested, here are some videos on those things: "A Taste of Finland | On The Town in the Palm Beaches". "Bruce Oreck has an unusual sauna experience", "UNESCO Sauna culture in Finland", "YKSK - Yhdistyneiden Kansakuntien Suomen Komppania 1956-1957 | Finnish UN Company 1956-1957", "VI BASTAR MED VÄRLDSMÄSTAREN I BASTU (SUPERHUMAN)", "Damn Mosquitoes! - EP8 - Incredible Fishing With Hissu & Tommi", "More swamp flying with drone Hyvinkää Finland", "Mika Myllylä - Wetland Training Montage", "WeShow Sports Swamp football action in Finland", "Rajavartiolaitos Erikoisrajajääkärit", "Ivalo Rajajääkärikomppania | Finnish Border Jaegers - Saapumiserävideo 1/19" and "Törni - Sotilaan tarina (A Soldier's Story) English Subtitles".

[@MRtapio5]

No point, Finn's get that experience inside their own country

[@MayThereBeWorldPeace]

Get strong and stay strong! Bless ya all.

[@CountSadistOIII]

🇫🇮🇫🇮

[@энхмааБааран]

I LOVE FINLAND

[@Jezpes-pt12]

i am actually from sodankylä and i can confirm hole in the or as we call it avanto is very cold

[@Toopa88]

2:20 I love how the Brit is talking so "royally" while a soldier is tripping in the background.

[@SmokeUndisputed]

Humor is important. Strong honorable men. ♌🦁🕯🧰

[@SOPULI]

Winter is survival challenge every year in Northern Finland, Norway, Sweden etc. In summertime you can take it easy, but every september cold wind comes from north and often straght from siberia. We can not forget make firewood and get some warm clothes when cold air comes. Almost half finland average year temperature is below zero. The midsummer ski competition is a traditional event in Lapland, and you can still ice in June. In August, it already rains the first snow. At school we have to go skiing, but everyone hates it because the equipment is not in order and the skis don't slide. My classmate took part in the school's compulsory ski competition with such army skis and the others had already skied three kilometers when he was only on the first lap. 😄I used my mother skis and it was littlebit faster than these army skis. And every time there was an uphill and there were polar bears and snow and icicles raining in the face and the trip to school lasted a week and for lunch there was only Fazer "chalkligorice" and snow. Ok in this last sentence was little lie. 😀

[@AlexNH56]

Man I miss this life! Sucks I can never go back in! The Military was the best life I ever had. Miss it so much!

[@sp33d90]

You know everybody is gangsta until snow starts speaking Finnish....

[@newera478]

Cold can kill you but making a fire at wrong time and place can get you killed also. Adjusting proper clothing layers for your situation is the best way to deal with cold. Enjoyed my stay as a combat medic in Sodankylä's jaegar battalion about 15 years ago.

[@Flyingtart]

You enjoy the good memories, you didn't enjoy it back then ;)

[@guigoinz112]

@@Flyingtart It's the same for all of us haha

[@jusal.adventure]

I am a Filipino civilian but I love adventures. If given a chance to be trained with Finnish soldiers like this would be willing to visit Finland and be trained.

[@martavdz4972]

Wow, how nice 💙

[@kalevihagqvist]

01:52 "following what the Finns are teaching" --> proceeds to scrape the rod with the wrong side of the knife😂

[@321-Gone]

If you don't know about Finnish history in arctic warfare than just read about when the Soviets invaded at the start of WW2. Massive out numbered and they wrecked house on the soviet army.

[@Anabolism89]

Мы так в детстве с друзьями играли зимой, правда из проруби приходилось выбираться с помощью ножа, а не лыжных палок. Спасибо за ностальгические воспоминания!

[@maramultiainen6024]

You Russians are starting to get very old and the young have been sacrificed in Ukraine, so why do you think Putin hasn't attacked Finland, even though Russia considers Finland an unfriendly country, it's a force, Finland before NATO was able to beat Russia with ground forces, but now it also has air forces, that's why Russia is trying to intimidate the Baltic countries, but forgetting that big brother Finland always takes Estonia's side, whether we were in NATO or not

[@berkdogan8137]

Respect from Turkey brothers 🇹🇷

[@blacksmith88]

The freezer is -18C so -24C is not an easy environment... and getting wounded is quite dangerous.

[@jeriksson7686]

We did nighly raids on skis like that on a vinter exercise in -42C 😁 (1991)

[@VaakunNakki]

I had weapon training -32C.

[@SuperVesa]

You are allowed to get up from the water when you are calm and not panicking, they want to see that you can control yourself in cold water.

[@renyw5123]

フィンランド好き

[@Pilot-2020]

Damn I wish Åland (where I live) wasn't demilitarised from Finland and that we would talk more finnish here, that way I could participate in this

[@coolirliswear9548]

People from Åland can also volunteer for the military service in Finland if you're interested in doing that. It's not mandatory, but you are allowed to do it.

[@MrSpritzmeister]

FDF has a Swedish speaking unit as well. Finnish isn’t mandatory to serve.

[@mikkojhe]

Also MPK courses are open for everyone.

[@cinderellaandstepsisters]

Swedish is the second official language in the whole of Finland and almost everybody can speak English. No problem.

[@Pilot-2020]

@@MrSpritzmeister I'm moving to Sweden anyway, so I'll probably serve there if I decide to do so

[@ОлегЛапыгин-в8ш]

❤❤❤ Я ЛЮБЛЮ НАТО❤❤❤

[@TheVoiTube]

Expertise for cold environment gives better advantage to cold warfare. If you live in cold with ease you operate better than opponent.

[@KristianKumpula]

Honestly as long as you have the appropriate gear, it's easier to fight in -20 than it would be to fight in late autumn or early spring. That's when you can get wet from puddles, swamps, rain, melting snow, etcetera. Being wet and cold is much worse than just being cold. Snow in those conditions is not likely to become wet without direct skin contact.

[@valzuman]

funnily enough; Sodankylä, the place theyre at, is literally translated to Warvillage. and also its funny to see people who are not used to cold when this activities is really what we do on our free time after work

[@FraxinusExelsior]

FINLAND SHINING STAR OF FREEDOM!

[@KaitsuMaitsu]

Kovia poikia! 👍👍

[@Pasloooo]

would be nice to see longer video how soldiers from warm places handle winter :)

[@matthewwoods339]

You guys are the best fr

[@lintu25]

Looks warm. I've been toss icy water, Atlantic ocean. Just remember one thing, keep calm. If you start to panic its game over.

[@Zarniwooper]

Sometimes midwinter in Sodankylä is something else. Primal instinct tells you not to go outside, but you have to. Even back in the day in the 90's, training I received from my NCO's and officers was top notch. Cool head (pun intended) and preparing gets you far.

[@sidoGold1980]

As a german i say: we may be a much larger country in terms of population but in terms of military finland is a better help than us sadly!

[@_vandoos_]

For us this is spring!

[@radnfo]

🇫🇮 +

[@YTMMS-hy6mz]

Terveisiä kymen jääkärikomppaniasta

[@kaospilot2774]

I love this. I think Scandinavia is one of the most close tight alliances there is between bordering nations - in the world. Scandinvia is very closely knit. We share the same culture although there are some small differences. We share our airforce and we share tactics on the ground, we share our past when it comes to war, we have all been living up here forever and know the landscapes like it is our own pockets - and we have the same heritage. Awesome.

[@YeeSoest]

Imagine being a spanyard and then your commander goes "jump into the icy lake, Miguel" Nooooo...Nooo, you're funny but no

[@dpie4859]

I did exactly this but in the Swedish army 1988 up in Boden. Far, far up north.

[@Kielimies]

I wonder if they also taught the making of various kinds of shelters from natural materials.

[@Temuttaja22]

Yes, etc. thing called "lumikammi" (quinzhee in english), thats the one option.

[@lasselahti4056]

we skied every morning to avanto as morning exersice.