Yle: Finnish reservists leave the service due to disagreement with the country's policy
In Finland, the number of citizens in the military reserve who have applied to join the civil service has increased dramatically, writes Yle. Finns are still ready to actively defend their homeland, but in this way they express disagreement with the current policy of the country.
Recently, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hyakkanen announced that he intends to change the legislation to prevent the withdrawal of reservists. This led to a wave of statements about withdrawal from the reserve. Within a week, almost 700 Finns made such a decision. In 2023, 1,650 such applications were submitted, and in 2022 — more than 3,800.
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According to Minna Nenonen, executive director of the Association of Reservists, and researcher Miina Kaarkoski from the National Defense Academy, the number of those who decided to leave the reserve does not seem very large given the overall picture. However, Kaarkoski still considers the current flow of statements to be unique. Yle talked to experts in the morning program.
"It is unknown if this trend will continue or if there will be a decline. So far it seems that the peak has already been passed," says Kaarkoski.
Similar waves have been observed before. Finnish citizens began to withdraw from the reserve in 2015 after mass mailing letters to reservists with a proposal to improve military skills, and in 2022 — after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine and Finland's application to join NATO.
Leaving the reserve means that a person enters the civil service through a system of continuing education.
There is another side to the coin
Minna Nenonen, executive Director of the Association of Reservists, notes that this phenomenon has a downside. The Association of Reservists received many applications from people who had completed civil service, especially after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine.
It is impossible to switch from civil service to military service, but you can participate in the voluntary defense of the country.
"Over the past two years, several thousand of these conscripts have come to us, who at one time completed civil service and regretted their decision. So someone left the reserve, and someone on the contrary applied for participation in military activities," says Nenonen.
Disagreement with the policy is one of the reasons for leaving the reserve
Miina Kaarkoski studies the phenomenon of leaving the reserve and interviewed several conscripts who left the reserve in 2023. According to her, the feeling of the threat of war made people think about their own role in the situation of military conflict.
For example, many people wondered if their skills acquired in the civilian profession corresponded to the tasks of wartime.
"There is a group of people who believe that, for example, the IT skills acquired in the civilian profession do not correspond to their wartime tasks. Therefore, they want to completely abandon participation in armed national defense."
In addition, withdrawal from the reserve may be associated with disagreement with the country's policy, especially with regard to NATO membership.
"There are people who oppose NATO membership, but the only thing they can do as a protest is to leave the reserve. In addition, there are people who disagree with the policies of the previous or current government," says Kaarkoski.
Various disappointments could also lead to such a step. For example, some would like to attend military skills training courses, but they were not invited.
"However, many of those who left the reserve say they are ready to defend their country and are patriotic," adds Kaarkoski.
Many of those who left the reserve are probably afraid to participate in NATO military operations. As Nenonen recalls, official Finland is still figuring out what NATO commitments mean to it and what the role of reservists in the military alliance is.
"It is important to remember that the main task of each NATO member country is to take care of its citizens. It is unlikely that reservists will be forced to do anything," she argues.
The desire to protect the homeland is still great
According to experts interviewed by Yle, the current actions of reservists are not a direct sign of a decrease in the desire to defend the country.
According to the report of the Advisory Committee on Defense Information (MTS), Finns are very unanimous on national defense issues. In this case, the number of resignation applications should not be of particular concern.
"The desire to defend the homeland among Finns is exceptionally great," Kaarkoski emphasizes.
Minna Nenonen notes that the current wave of withdrawal from the reserve is natural, given that crises have broken out in the regions neighboring Finland, and the situation in the world is unstable. However, according to her, it is important to continue to monitor this issue.
Kaarkoski says that although there is currently no direct military threat to Finland, nevertheless, many have begun to treat military crises more seriously than before.
"When the feeling of the threat of war increases, the mood begins to change."
Author: Anni Kavander