The Finnish Coastal Jaegers (Marine Commandos) are the only marine infantry arm of the Finnish Navy

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" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...

. The unit consist of conscripts and is located at Nylands Brigade, in Dragsvik, near Ekenäs

Ekenäs

Ekenäs is a former town and municipality of Finland comprising the former municipalities Snappertuna and Tenala together with the town of Ekenäs. It was merged with Pohja and Karis to form the new municipality of Raseborg on January 1, 2009....

. Privates, NCOs and officers can all apply to the Marine Commando.
Finnish marine commandos are often translated to Coastal Jaegers (or Coastal Rangers). This is likely to be because the word "commando" is usually associated with American action movies (rather than real soldiers) in these countries.
The insignia of the Finnish Marine Commandos is the head of an eagle in gold.

Task

The task of the Finnish Coastal Jägers is to conduct counter attacks against enemy landings in the Finnish archipelago, an environment known for its many small islands and skerries. Jägers can act on their own or with the support of artillery units. A small subsection of the Jäger unit is trained for unconventional warfare and reconnaissance behind enemy lines.

Selection

Initially, a large number of conscripts are selected for training at KustJK (the coastal jäger company, Swedish; Kustjägarkompaniet) in Dragsvik on the basis of the physical review taken by all conscripts before they enter military service. After 8 weeks of basic training privates are assigned tasks. The number of commandos trained varies, but usually about 30-50% of the conscripts at KJK go through commando training of which approximately 40% are NCOs or officer candidates. The rest of KJK conscripts are trained for support roles such as cooks, medics, drivers, easier combat tasks or sent to another unit.
Conscripts are selected for NCO (Stage 1) education during the initial 8 weeks of basic training common to all elements of the Finnish Defence Force. Candidates for officer training are selected during the 7 week long Stage 1 of NCO training. About 10-20% of Stage 1 NCO candidates become officer candidates.

Training

Coastal Jäger training is considered to be tough and challenging, like other infantry lines. The main elements of Jäger training are combat training, weapons handling, endurance and mobility. Although training is tough for all Jägers, NCOs and officers are drilled harder than privates during their time at the Amphibious Warfare School.
For privates the training is 6 months and encompasses only the fundamental elements of marine warfare. NCO and officer training lasts for 12 months.
Physically, jäger training places emphasis on endurance rather than short term fitness. For example, a jäger candidate is more likely to spend his time marching with a heavy rucksack than doing push-ups. Marches are usually carried out with "full field equipment" (meaning 40-60kg depending on the task of the soldier) and can be as long as 80-90km. However, most jäger candidates find the mental part of the training most challenging. Instructors go out of their way to put as much mental pressure on the soldiers as possible. This is always combined with high levels of sleep deprivation. NCO and officer trainees can go with as little as 2-4h of sleep during a 4 day exercise.
The difference in length, quality and intensity of private compared to NCO and Officer training is reflected in the units sent for international duty. These usually consist almost exclusively of NCOs and Officers.

The Green Beret

Coastal Jägers can obtain the right to wear the green beret (jäger green beret with a golden sea eagle) by reaching the required standards in shooting, running, swimming, a gym test, participating in all major exercises and, most importantly, completing the beret march. The beret march is approximately 120km in length over which the Jäger candidates must navigate themselves, by foot and single geared bicycle, carrying 40-45kg of combat equipment. Every 5-10km the candidates are stopped to complete tasks given to them by instructors. Typical tasks are medical evacuation of "wounded" soldiers, shooting, weapons handling or map reading. At one point of the march candidates are put on a boat and driven to an unknown location. They must then locate themselves on a map and find their way back to the route of the march.