The Utti Jaeger Regiment (, () Special jaegers) is the Finnish Army training and development centre for

special forces Special forces or 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 (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

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, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

consists of around 400 hired personnel and 220 conscripts according to sources from 2018. Its Special Jaeger Company () served during the War in Afghanistan, training security officials in medical care, firearms, and operational planning, and has been in standby duties as a part of the European Union Battlegroups and NATO Response Force. The Finnish special forces trace their history to the four

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

detachments (') and Detached Battalion 4 ('), which fought in 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 ...

, Continuation War and Lapland War during 1939–1944. 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, near the city of Kouvola. 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 , 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 the Finnish capital ...

'', 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 and

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

. 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, vehicle, high-altitude military parachuting,

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

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 three battalions in addition to the headquarters: *Special Jaeger Battalion **Special Jaeger Company – hosts the special jaeger

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

, 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 and air assault operations. *Helicopter Battalion – equipped with 20 NH90 tactical transport helicopters and 7 MD 500 light helicopters; responsible for all helicopter operations and training of the Defence Forces. **1st Helicopter Company – high readiness unit supporting special operations forces and crisis management. **2nd Helicopter Company – basic flight training and helicopter support for other forces. **Aircraft Maintenance Company *Support Battalion **Support Company – trains conscripts in support tasks and handles logistics in cooperation with the Logistics Centre. **Logistics Centre

References

External links