Post by Pekka Sillanpää

Very good for Finland. Very bad for Germany. The distance is too big. CIOR - Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers CISOR - Interallied Confederation of Reserve NCO CIOMR - Interallied Confederation of Medical Reserve Officers Translation: LTC Ilkka Ikonen Head of Uusimaa Regional Office, PhD Germany’s challenges in recruiting personnel for its armed forces have been reported for several years. This year, Germany launched an experiment in which a letter/survey about military service is sent to an entire age group. For men, responding is mandatory; for women, voluntary. The response rate among men was 96 % and among women 4 %. Out of 300 000 letters, 530 people volunteered for service — about 0.18 % of the age group. In Finland, the situation is different. From the 2025 conscription age group (men born in 2007, totaling 32 095), 76.29 % (around 24 500 people) will begin service. This is the highest figure since 2014. In addition, service interruptions have decreased — for example, interruptions due to health reasons dropped by more than 18 % between 2023 and 2025. Thus, a larger share of the age group enters service, and fewer discontinue it. Between 2022 and 2025, the number of completed services increased by about 1 800 young people. In Finland, the conscription system works well, and many European countries are interested in our model. Our history and recent events in Europe have strengthened the will to defend the country, which is reflected in the figures above and also in the rise of reservist activity since 2022.