Captain (N) Timo Hirvonen new COS of the Finnish Navy

The Chief of Staff of the Navy, Commodore Juha Vauhkonen, handed over his duties to Captain (N) Timo Hirvonen on 2 May 2016 at the Heikkilä Garrison in Turku.

Commodore Vauhkonen will become the military representative in Finland´s Permanent Mission to the European Union (EUE) and in the Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and serve as Finland’s Permanent Representative in the EU Military Committee and as the military representative in NATO, Brussels, starting from 1 September 2016. He has served as Chief of Staff of the Navy since 2013.

Before receiving the post as Chief of Staff of the Navy, Captain (N) Timo Hirvonen served as Commander of the Coastal Fleet until 1 May 2016. Previously he has served as Chief of the Strategic Planning Section of the Defence Command, as national representative at NATO Headquarters Allied Command Transformation, as Squadron Commander of the Gulf of Finland Naval Command and as Chief of the Strategic Plans Section at the Navy Command.

In his speech at the handover ceremony the new Chief of Staff, Captain (N) Hirvonen thanked his predecessor Commodore Juha Vauhkonen and pointed out some of the future challenges of the Navy in the changed operational environment.

"The military activity in Finland’s neighbouring areas has increased manifold. This change in the operational environment is apparent in many of the things the Finnish Defence Forces are involved in. Also in the Navy, we can notice this change in our various tasks, for instance in our everyday sea surveillance and observing the operational activity or as planning tasks.

Regarding the maintenance of our materiel defence capability, the naval and coastal unit projects which are ongoing or about to start hold a key position. By making sure that all of these projects will be implemented to their full potential, we will be able to maintain the capability and striking power of the Navy in the future."