Sadly, my Finnish is not particularly good yet, so here is a translated version made with [DeepL Translator](https://www.deepl.com/en/translator)
In a survey of Finnish officers’ union members, 91% of respondents were in favour of joining NATO.
More than 90% of respondents to the Officers’ Union survey support joining NATO – Finnish soldiers’ performance will soon be at a critical level, say respondents
According to a survey by the Officers’ Union,
the popularity of NATO membership has clearly risen among officers. The survey was sent to all members of the union, one third of whom responded. The Association considers the result to be representative.
The Finnish Defence Forces’ initial training in Santahamina.
According to the assessment of the Officers’ Union’s members, the war in Ukraine will further increase the number of exercises and preparedness tasks in Finland.
91 percent of the respondents to a survey of officers’ union members support joining NATO.
In a recent poll, about a third of respondents say their position on NATO has changed over the year.
– With the war in Ukraine, support for joining NATO was expected to rise. In previous polls, the Russian threat has been seen as the biggest threat of all, so the situation is now making NATO membership more popular. Soldiers are certainly more concerned with military performance than with a political solution, says Lieutenant Colonel Ville Viita, President of the Officers’ Association.
According to Viita, the belief in national defence capabilities is strong among officers, but NATO is seen as bringing clear added value on top of that.
– We have a lot of experience from years of international exercises and extended partnership with NATO. I believe that knowledge has increased a great deal. That is certainly a large part of the reason for this.
The survey was sent by e-mail to about 6 000 members and received a response from about 2 200 officers. According to the Officers’ Association, the response rate is typical for surveys and the result reflects the views of the Finnish officer corps.
Almost all Finnish officers belong to the Officers’ Union.
Membership: staff performance not at a sufficient level
The Officers union members believe that the war in Ukraine will further increase exercises and preparedness tasks in Finland.
According to the union’s members, it is expected that the soldiers’ performance will not be at the level required in the future. The increased readiness will put a strain on personnel, making recovery a challenge. The membership believes that the situation is getting worse and threatens to become critical.
To improve the situation, Ville Viita, President of the Officers’ Union, calls for more recovery time for soldiers in training.
– In military exercises and naval service, working hours can be 16-20 hours a day, and on standby 24 hours a day. You don’t go home to sleep. This should be resolved, for example, by making one day off during the week’s exercises. Because of readiness, there will now be many more exercises, which will increase the workload.
Additional funding coming, for example, for refresher training
Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen (centre party) has previously said that he will propose additional funding for the Defence Forces in the next supplementary budget. The funding would be allocated to material procurement, personnel and refresher training.
As a result of the framework debate that ended on Tuesday, the government announced that the spring supplementary budget will include an additional EUR 200 million for defence spending. In addition, over the next four years, a total of EUR 2 billion will be allocated to defence.
Ville Viida believes that funding should focus on quality rather than quantity.
– If there is a large increase in training exercises, personnel will not have time to recover. This was already a problem before the Corona virus. The situation in November-December [in Ukraine], which has escalated into a full-scale war, has increased the coefficient of variation very much. Changes in working hours are needed to allow staff to recover better. More staff alone will not help.
I remember seeing this back in 2014 or something like that. As someone who know I wouldn’t go to army, that was all I needed to know.
Well, absolutely no wonder why👍
Just get the fuck in already. Finland and Sweeden have to come into the alliance.
4 comments
Sadly, my Finnish is not particularly good yet, so here is a translated version made with [DeepL Translator](https://www.deepl.com/en/translator)
In a survey of Finnish officers’ union members, 91% of respondents were in favour of joining NATO.
More than 90% of respondents to the Officers’ Union survey support joining NATO – Finnish soldiers’ performance will soon be at a critical level, say respondents
According to a survey by the Officers’ Union,
the popularity of NATO membership has clearly risen among officers. The survey was sent to all members of the union, one third of whom responded. The Association considers the result to be representative.
The Finnish Defence Forces’ initial training in Santahamina.
According to the assessment of the Officers’ Union’s members, the war in Ukraine will further increase the number of exercises and preparedness tasks in Finland.
91 percent of the respondents to a survey of officers’ union members support joining NATO.
Support for NATO among officers has clearly increased in the last few months. In a poll published last November by the Officers’ Union and MTV News (https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/mtv-n-ja-upseeriliiton-kysely-kaksi-kolmesta-upseerista-kannattaa-nato-jasenyytta-suurimmasta-uhasta-eli-venajasta-yksimielisyys/8298948#gs.wibiqy), around 65% of officers were in favour of joining the military alliance.
In a recent poll, about a third of respondents say their position on NATO has changed over the year.
– With the war in Ukraine, support for joining NATO was expected to rise. In previous polls, the Russian threat has been seen as the biggest threat of all, so the situation is now making NATO membership more popular. Soldiers are certainly more concerned with military performance than with a political solution, says Lieutenant Colonel Ville Viita, President of the Officers’ Association.
According to Viita, the belief in national defence capabilities is strong among officers, but NATO is seen as bringing clear added value on top of that.
– We have a lot of experience from years of international exercises and extended partnership with NATO. I believe that knowledge has increased a great deal. That is certainly a large part of the reason for this.
The survey was sent by e-mail to about 6 000 members and received a response from about 2 200 officers. According to the Officers’ Association, the response rate is typical for surveys and the result reflects the views of the Finnish officer corps.
Almost all Finnish officers belong to the Officers’ Union.
Membership: staff performance not at a sufficient level
The Officers union members believe that the war in Ukraine will further increase exercises and preparedness tasks in Finland.
According to the union’s members, it is expected that the soldiers’ performance will not be at the level required in the future. The increased readiness will put a strain on personnel, making recovery a challenge. The membership believes that the situation is getting worse and threatens to become critical.
To improve the situation, Ville Viita, President of the Officers’ Union, calls for more recovery time for soldiers in training.
– In military exercises and naval service, working hours can be 16-20 hours a day, and on standby 24 hours a day. You don’t go home to sleep. This should be resolved, for example, by making one day off during the week’s exercises. Because of readiness, there will now be many more exercises, which will increase the workload.
Additional funding coming, for example, for refresher training
Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen (centre party) has previously said that he will propose additional funding for the Defence Forces in the next supplementary budget. The funding would be allocated to material procurement, personnel and refresher training.
As a result of the framework debate that ended on Tuesday, the government announced that the spring supplementary budget will include an additional EUR 200 million for defence spending. In addition, over the next four years, a total of EUR 2 billion will be allocated to defence.
Ville Viida believes that funding should focus on quality rather than quantity.
– If there is a large increase in training exercises, personnel will not have time to recover. This was already a problem before the Corona virus. The situation in November-December [in Ukraine], which has escalated into a full-scale war, has increased the coefficient of variation very much. Changes in working hours are needed to allow staff to recover better. More staff alone will not help.
I remember seeing this back in 2014 or something like that. As someone who know I wouldn’t go to army, that was all I needed to know.
Well, absolutely no wonder why👍
Just get the fuck in already. Finland and Sweeden have to come into the alliance.