Finland has a long tradition of high level sniper training. Simo Häyhä put Finland on the map over 80 years ago thanks to his accomplishments in WW2. Since thousands of Finns have been trained to sniper arts upholding Häyhä's legacy.
Besides the Finnish Defence Forces, sniper training is upheld by National Defence Training Association of Finland (Maanpuolustuskoulutusyhdistys/MPK) which is closely tied with the FDF, and also several reservist organization's centered around sniper activity of which the largest, Tarkka-ampujakilta Ry holds 550 members.
To this day both active duty and reserve Finnish teams rack up medals in international sniper competitions while also some of the largest and most challanging sniper competitions (Finnsniper and Häyhä) are held in Finland.
The world renowned sniper caliber .338 Lapua Magnum widely used by armed forces all across the globe comes from Finland aswell as the Sako Trg22 and Trg42 – arguably one of the most accurate and reliable sniper rifles trusted by professionals in both military and law enforcement units in all corners of the world.
The Finnish Defence Force has only around 8000 active duty soldiers. FDF relies heavily on reservists and trains 22 000 new reservists each year to maintain a pool of 870 000 reservists nationwide, which is one of the largest trained and draftable reserve pools in the world. The war time standing force is 280 000 personnel – everyone accordingly equipped and holding a pre-planned mission set.
The strength and unison of the Finnish people was put to the test twice by the Soviet Union, in the winter of 1939-1940 and again in 1941-1944. Both times the Finns held fast and managed to retain their independency in the face of a greatly larger advisory.
The FDF in unison with several aforementioned organizations maintains the Military Deterrent that is paramount in ensuring the independence and freedom of the Republic of Finland established December 6th 1917.
by the_pale_companion