Exercise Desert Snow conducted in the United States demonstrated the skills of Finnish reservists

The exercise conducted in Louisiana was part of the cooperation between Karelia Brigade and the Virginia National Guard under the official partnership program between Finland and state of Virginia.

In June, Karelia Brigade participated in Exercise Desert Snow 26 lead by the Virginia National Guard. The exercise was conducted in the state of Louisiana in the United States. The aim of the exercise was to strengthen interoperability between participating forces, deepen personnel expertise on the tactical level and enhance compatibility and cooperation between units.

Karelia Brigade’s training contingent was led by Major Antti Uljas, who participated in the exercise in the United States and followed the contingent’s activities throughout the exercise from beginning to end.

During the approximately month-long exercise, we experienced a wide range of conditions, from temperatures of up to +40°C and humidity exceeding 90 per cent to heavy rainfall and the flooding it caused. Exotic plants, insects and animals added to the unique character of the exercise environment. Apart from our own equipment, hardly anything was familiar from home. The unit’s discipline, self-reliance and ability to respond quickly to changing situations impressed our allies. As the exercise commander, I was both pleased and proud of the unit’s level of competence and the attitude with which its personnel approached their tasks, says Major Uljas.

The Army Chief of Training, Colonel Mikko Saarelainen inspected Karelia Brigade’s training contingent and was introduced to the exercise together with the Commander of Karelia Artillery Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Mikko Virén. The Army Chief of Training was pleased with the Finnish contingent in the exercise:

The exercise setting combined with the warm climate of Louisiana created an excellent opportunity to further deepen the cooperation between the Finnish Army and Virginia National Guard and enhance combat capability. The training contingent from Karelia Brigade succeeded perfectly in that task and was able to quickly gain the trust and respect of the partners with their expertise. The conditions and the length of the exercise strengthened the trust and unity within the unit, which are key factors for the unit to be able to fulfil given tasks and withstand the conditions of war, says Colonel Saarelainen.

The Finnish training contingent included active-duty personnel from the Karelia Brigade’s Artillery Regiment and over 50 reservists. The training contingent returned from the exercise with personal equipment at the end of June. According to the Commander of Karelia Artillery Regiment, the exercise offered a great opportunity to both learn from allies and demonstrate our capabilities to them:

During the exercise, the contingent proved that following the basic tactics and techniques learned from military service and an uncompromising approach to force protection led to success on the battlefield. For Karelia Artillery Regiment, the exercise was a valuable experience in improving the capabilities of both the contingent as a whole and the participating individuals, says Lieutenant Colonel Mikko Virén.

During the exercise, military personnel from the Virginia National Guard maintenance unit were deployed to Karelia Brigade to improve compatibility between the forces and equipment, particularly in the area of logistics. The heavy equipment used in the exercise arrived in Finland as a separate shipment at the end of August.

The preparation phase of the exercise provided the regular personnel of Karelia Brigade and Artillery Regiment an excellent opportunity to learn about the new challenges posed by international operations in practice. Deploying a contingent along with its equipment to another continent is not a simple task; significant contributions from various people were required long before a single soldier set foot in the United States or returned to Finland, Lieutenant Colonel Virén adds.

The planned bilateral cooperation between Karelia Brigade and the Virginia National Guard has deepened every year. Reservists from Karelia Brigade participated in Exercise Desert Snow in the United States last year as well, and this year the soldiers from the Virginia National Guard participated in Exercises Karelian Sword 26 and Karelian Stone 26. Cooperation between the units helps strengthen interoperability between the countries.