The Utti Jaeger Regiment ( fi, Utin Jääkärirykmentti, ()) is the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

training and development centre for

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

operations in charge of the Army Special Forces Unit and the Special Forces Qualification Course.

Function

Regiment

The Utti Jaeger Regiment is responsible for training special forces for the Finnish Army as well as upkeeping high readiness of the Army Special Forces Unit and helicopter operations and performing executive assistance tasks. The

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

consists of around 400 hired personnel and 220 conscripts according to sources from 2018. Its Special Jaeger Company () served during the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

, training security officials in medical care, firearms, and operational planning, and has been in standby duties as a part of the

European Union Battlegroups An EU Battlegroup (EU BG) is a military unit adhering to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union (EU). Often based on contributions from a coalition of Member State of the European Union, member states, each of the ei ...

and

NATO Response Force The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness force comprising land, air, sea and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly. Until February 2022, when NATO activated it in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine,JAMES KITFIEL(1 ...

. The Finnish special forces trace their history to the four

long-range reconnaissance patrol A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP (pronounced "lurp"), is a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory.Ankony, Robert C., ''Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri,'' revised ...

detachments ('' fi, kaukopartio-osastot'') and

Detached Battalion 4 Detached Battalion 4 ( ()) was a special forces unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War and Lapland War, serving from July 1943 to November 1944. The battalion was founded under the Intelligence Division of Defence Command from the ...

('' fi, Erillinen Pataljoona 4''), which fought in the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

and

Lapland War During World War II, the Lapland War ( fi , Lapin sota; sv, Lapplandskriget; german: Lapplandkrieg) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. ...

during 1941–1944. After the wartime units were demobilized in November 1944, the Army reinitiated organized special forces training in February 1962 by establishing the Parachute Jaeger School (, ()) at

Utti Utti is a village in Valkeala, since 2009 a part of Kouvola, Finland. In 1918 General Carl Gustaf Mannerheim set up the first Finnish Air Force base in the village. Today, Utti is best known for the Utti Jaeger Regiment, a helicopter base and a t ...

, near the city of

Kouvola Kouvola () is a cities of Finland, city and Municipalities of Finland, municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki, Kymijoki River in the Regions of Finland, region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lapp ...

. On 1 January 1997, the Utti Jaeger Regiment was formed by merging the Parachute Jaeger School, Military Police School and Helicopter Wing. The Parachute Jaeger School was later reformed into the Special Jaeger Battalion and the Helicopter Wing reinforced into the Helicopter Battalion.

Special Jaeger

According to the newspaper ''

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

'', a typical special forces soldier has served in the Defence Forces for seven years and is around 28–29-years-old. On average, they run in a

Cooper test The cooper test which was designed by Kenneth H. Cooper in 1968 for US military use is a physical fitness test. In its original form, the point of the test is to run as far as possible within 12 minutes. Pacing is important, as the participant wi ...

and

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

. Before applying for and attending the year-long Special Forces Qualification Course, they often have served as a paratrooper or a combat diver during conscript service. Approximately 12 students are chosen for the course out of a 100 applicants after a four-day exam. All of the course attendees are trained in communications, engineer and medical care, and receive specializations later, such as

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

, vehicle,

high-altitude military parachuting High-altitude military parachuting, or military free fall (MFF), is a method of delivering military personnel, military equipment, and other military supplies from a transport aircraft at a high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion. Two ...

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

forward air control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

training. Those chosen for career tracts after the basic course serve at either Utti Jaeger Regiment or Special Operations Detachment of the Naval Reconnaissance Battalion, of the Coastal Brigade.

Organisation

As of 2018, the Utti Jaeger Regiment is divided into four units in addition to the headquarters: *Special Jaeger Battalion **Special Jaeger Company – hosts the special jaeger

non-commissioned officers A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

, maintains special forces readiness and capabilities of the Army, and oversees the Special Forces Qualification Course. **Paratrooper Company – trains conscripts in basic long-range reconnaissance patrol, sissi,

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and

air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

operations. *Helicopter Battalion – equipped with 20

NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

tactical transport helicopters and 7 MD 500 light helicopters; responsible for all helicopter operations and training of the Defence Forces. *Support Company – trains conscripts in support tasks and handles logistics in cooperation with the Logistics Centre. *Logistics Centre

References

External links