Finnish Marine Commandos

The Finnish Marine Commandos (Kustjägarna in Swedish and Rannikkojääkärit in Finnish) are the elite arm of the Finnish marine infantry. The unit consist of conscripts and is located at Nyland's Brigad, Dragsvik. Privates, NCOs and Officers can all train as a Commando. Finnish marine commandos are often translated to Coastal Jaegers (or Coastal Rangers) by Finnish and Swedish speakers. This is likely to be because the word "commando" is usually associated with American action movies (rather than real soldiers) in these countries. The insignia of the Finnish Marine Commandos is the head of an eagle in gold.

Task

The task of the Finnish Marine Commandos is to conduct counter attacks against enemy landings in the Finnish archipelago, an environment known for its many small islands and terrible weather. The commandos can act on their own or with the support of artillery units. A small subsection of the commando unit is trained for unconventional warfare and reconnaissance behind enemy lines.

election

Initially, a large number of conscripts are selected for training at KJK (the marine commando company) in Dragsvik on the basis of the physical review taken by all conscripts before they enter military service. After the 8 weeks of basic training privates are assigned tasks. The number of commandos trained varies but usually about 30-50% of conscripts at KJK go through commando training of which approximately 40% are NCOs or Officer candidates. The rest of KJK conscripts are trained for support roles such as cooks, medics, drivers, easier combat tasks or sent to another unit.Conscripts are selected for NCO (stage 1) education during the initial 8 weeks of basic training common to all elements of the Finnish defence force. Candidates for officer training are selected during the 7 week long stage 1 of NCO training. About 10-20% of stage 1 NCO candidates become officer candidates.

Training

Commando training is known to be tougher than that given to any other type of infantry in Finland. Its main elements are combat training, weapons handling, endurance and mobility. Although training is tough for all commandos, NCOs and Officers are drilled considerably harder than privates during their time at the Amphibious Warfare School.For privates the training is 6 months and encompasses only the fundamental elements of marine warfare. NCO and officer training lasts for 12 months.Physically, commando training places emphasis on endurance rather than short term fitness. For example, a commando candidate is more likely to spend his time marching with a heavy rucksack than doing push-ups. Marches are usually carried out with "full field equipment" (meaning 40-60kg depending on the task of the soldier) and can be as long as 80-90km. However, most commando candidates find the mental part of the training most challenging. Instructors go out of their way to put as much mental pressure on the soldiers as possible. This is always combined with high levels of sleep deprivation. NCO and officer trainees can go with as little as 2-4h of sleep during a 4 day exercise.The difference in length, quality and intensity of private compared to NCO and Officer training is reflected in the units sent for international duty. These usually consist almost exclusively of NCOs and Officers.

The Green Beret

Commandos can obtain the right to wear the green beret by reaching the required standards in shooting, running, swimming, a gym test, participating in all major exercises and, most importantly, completing the beret march. The beret march is approximately 70km in length over which the commando candidates must navigate themselves carrying 40-45kg of combat equipment. Every 5-10km the candidates are stopped to complete tasks given to them by instructors. Typical tasks are medical evacuation of "wounded" soldiers, shooting, weapons handling or map reading. At one point of the march candidates are put on a boat and driven to an unknown location. They must then locate themselves on a map and find their way back to the route of the march. The march is to be completed in less than 30 hours otherwise the candidate will miss the ceremony at which the green beret is awarded.

References

The information contained on this page is also available on www.mil.fi