The Finnish Coastal Jaegers (, and ) or Finnish Marine Commandos are the marines special operations capable forces unit of the

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( , ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for "Finnish Navy ship", but ...

. The unit consists of both regulars and conscripts, predominantly Swedish-speaking, and is located at Nyland Brigade (

Uusimaa Brigade The Nyland Brigade (, ) is a brigade-level marine-type unit of the Finnish Navy stationed in Dragsvik in Raseborg in the province of Uusimaa. The brigade trains coastal jaegers and other troops for combat in coastal environments. It is the onl ...

) in Dragsvik, near Ekenäs.

Mission

The Finnish Coastal Jaegers primary role is to conduct

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "Military exercise, war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objecti ...

against enemy landings in the

Finnish archipelago The Archipelago Sea (, ) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest archipelago in the world by the number o ...

, an environment known for small islands and skerries. Jaegers can function independently or with the support of artillery units, including light or heavy mortars. A number of Coastal Jaeger troops receive training for direct action, irregular warfare, and special reconnaissance behind enemy lines.

Selection

Conscripts are selected for training at 1. & 2. KUSTJK (the Coastal Jaeger companies; Swedish: 1. & 2. Kustjägarkompaniet) in Dragsvik on the basis of the physical review taken by all conscripts before they enter military service. After 6 weeks of basic training, privates are assigned to further training in the same unit if suitable or moved to another unit for other type of training. The number of jaegers trained varies per intake, but usually about 30-50% of the conscripts in the two KUSTJKs go on to receive marine training, with approx. 40% of them selected for training as

NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted rank ...

or officer candidates. The other half of KUSTJK recruits receive training for support roles such as cooks, medics, drivers and boatsmen, for easier combat roles and may even be transferred to other units. Conscripts are selected for NCO (Stage 1) education after 12 weeks of training. Candidates for officer training are selected during the 6-week-long Stage 1 of NCO training. About 10–20% of Stage 1 NCO candidates are sent to the Reserve Officer's School for the 16-week-long course and become officer candidates upon return to Dragsvik.

Training

The main elements of Jaeger training are combat training, weapon handling, endurance and mobility. For privates the training is 22 weeks and encompasses the fundamental elements of amphibious warfare, commando style raids, maritime operations, and urban warfare and individual military operational specialty. NCO and officer training lasts for 46 weeks, incorporating specialised Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) training. A Jaeger candidate is more likely to spend time marching with a heavy rucksack than doing push-ups. Marches are usually carried out with "full field equipment" (meaning ) and can be as long as . Coastal Jaegers can go with as little as 1–3 hours of sleep during a 4-day exercise. The difference in length, quality, and intensity of training is reflected in the composition of units used for international duties. These usually consist almost exclusively of NCOs and officers.

The Green Beret

Coastal Jaegers obtain the right to wear the unit's green beret (jaeger green beret with a golden sea eagle) by reaching the required standards in shooting, running, swimming, strength, completing all major exercises and completing the beret march. The beret march is approximately in length, over which the Jaeger candidates must navigate by foot, carrying of equipment. Every the candidates stop to complete tasks, such as medical evacuation of "wounded" soldiers, shooting, weapons handling, water crossing and map reading. At one point, candidates are put on a boat and driven to an unknown location. They must locate themselves on a map and find their way back to the route. The march has to be completed in a certain time limit to pass the beret march requirement for the green beret. The dropout rate for the march in 2018 was 40%.

History

The Finnish marine units which preceded the commandos fought against Soviet army troops and Soviet naval infantry during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

(1939–1940) and

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 during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

(1941–1944). On 7 September 2019, the unit celebrated its 40th anniversary. The celebrations were attended by 635 out of the 1,041 Coastal Jaegers trained during this period.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Naval units and formations of Finland Marines