According to the military, the Finnish defence doctrine relies on the principle of territorial defence which means that the whole of Finland must be defended in all cases. It is claimed that this requires a very large war-time reservist defence force to deter and fight aggression. Career officers are insufficient to lead a force of this size. Therefore, the junior officer positions in the wartime Defence Forces are filled by reserve officers.

Reserve Officer School , located in Hamina by the South-Eastern border, is the unit responsible for the training of the bulk of the Finnish reserve officers. This means two yearly courses of some 750 men and women. The School is organized into a Reserve Officer Course, two supporting companies, a Logistics Centre and the Kymenlaakso Regional Office. The Reserve Officer Course is divided into eight companies:

• 1st Company: infantry and anti-tank weapons
• Ranger Company: sissi troops
• Military Police
  Military police
  Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
  
   Company
• Fire Control Battery: artillery forward observers for infantry and reconnaissance units
• Artillery Battery: mortar and artillery
• Air Defence Battery: anti-aircraft fire control and firing positions
• Engineer Company
• Signal Company: signals corps and the signals service of field artillery, anti-aircraft troops, mortar units and Finnish Air Force
  Finnish Air Force
  The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...
  
  .

In addition to the eight units of the Reserve Officer Course, the School has a Jäger Company and a Transportation Company which are responsible for providing support personnel for the school, most importantly, the military policemen, drivers and medics.

Organizationally, Reserve Officer School is a brigade-level unit which belongs to the Eastern Finland Military Province. The unit was founded in 1920 and has operated continually with a single break from 1945 to 1947 when the Finnish officer training was stopped by order of the Allied Control Commission. Since its founding, the school has been situated in Hamina

Hamina

Hamina is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is...

, with the exception of war-time 1939–1945, when the school was evacuated to Niinisalo in Kankaanpää

Kankaanpää

-People born in Kankaanpää:*Toni Vilander , racing driver*Elwood , demoscene musician*Cristal Snow, musician-External links:* – Official website...

. During the years 1942–1945, the school operated under the name of Officer School . Since 1920, the School has trained over 168,000 reserve officers for the Finnish Defence Forces.

The Training in the Reserve Officer School

In Finland, the military service is 6, 9 or 12 months long. Those chosen for NCO positions are sent after the 8-week basic training to the NCO schools of their respective garrisons or branches and ordered to serve 12 months. After the first seven weeks of the NCO school, those most suitable for officer training are selected on the basis of the first phase of the NCO school and the basic training. Most officer students are high school graduates and start university studies after their military service. Some have already graduated from a university.

In the Reserve Officer School the officer students receive training for the duties of platoon leader (or equivalent). The curriculum includes studies in leadership, tactics and physical education. After a 3½-month-long course, the officer students are promoted to officer cadets and sent to their 'home' garrisons to train their war-time platoons from the recruits. After 5½ months of service as officer cadets, they are promoted second lieutenants and discharged.

Traditionally, the training of a reserve officer has carried certain social distinction and has been tied to high positions in industry and economy. E.g. former Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

 CEO Jorma Ollila

Jorma Ollila

Jorma Jaakko Ollila is the Chairman and former CEO of the Nokia Corporation and a Member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company , UPM-Kymmene , and Otava Books and Magazines Group Ltd...

 was the Chairman of his Reserve Officer Course.

The high education of most reserve officers gives the Finnish Defence Forces a chance to fill many war-time vacancies on the basis of civilian professions. For instance, a manager of a civilian transportation company might have a wartime placement as a brigade-level logistics officer. Conscripts who are medical students or doctors are usually given special training to become reserve medical officers.

Other Reserve Officer Training

Some special branches carry out their own reserve officer training. Among these are the Special and Para Jäger units of Utti Jaeger Regiment

Utti Jaeger Regiment

The Utti Jaeger Regiment is the Finnish Army training and development centre for special forces and helicopter operations. It consists of about 500 personnel of which about 200 are conscripts.-Organisation:...

, Armoured Brigade

Armoured Brigade (Finnish Army)

The Armoured Brigade is a Finnish Army training unit located in Parolannummi, near Hämeenlinna, in southern Finland. The brigade specialises in training armoured and anti-aircraft troops. In case of mobilization, the Finnish Defence Forces would field one armoured brigade...

, and some technical and logistics branches. Navy reserve officers are trained in Naval Warfare School and Air Force reserve officers in Training Air Wing.

External links

• Reserve Officer School