Conscription in Finland

All males are liable to report at the drafting event (Finnish: kutsunnat, Swedish: uppbåd) of their municipality in the autumn of the year they turn 18.

The Finnish Defence Forces sends the youth an official invitation to the event along with an information package.

Prior to the drafting event, the male is required to visit a municipal doctor for a physical examination.

The drafting event consists of a number of lectures, after which a doctor appointed by the municipality gives each male a physical examination.

[13] If they are not found, they are given an order to report to the military regional office and, if necessary, brought there for an examination and drafting by the police.

Privates have a possibility of being promoted to lance corporal (in the navy, seaman) for extraordinarily good service.

[17] Similarly to the induction, an activated reservist becomes a military person at the moment when he was ordered to report to service.

[18] Military service can be started after turning 18, but can be delayed due to studies, work or other personal reasons until the age of 28.

In addition to lodging, food, clothes and health care the conscripts receive a tax-free allowance between €5.10 and €11.90[19] per day, depending on the time they have served.

Military service consists of lessons, practical training, various cleaning and maintenance duties and field exercises.

The wake-up call is usually at 05:30 and a day's typical duty lasts for twelve hours, including meals and some breaks.

On a majority of weekends conscripts can leave the barracks on Friday and are expected to return by midnight on Sunday evening.

The basic training takes place in the Lapinjärvi Civilian Service Center and lasts 28 days.

During basic training, the serviceman is given instruction in first aid, peace education, internationalism, and non-violent resistance.

The servicemen are allowed to leave the service center freely during their free time, and may, if they wish, live at their homes during the basic training.

[29] After their service, the civilian servicemen belong to the civil reserve (siviilivaranto) until the end of their 50th life year.

In case of general mobilization, the parliament may give permission to activate even the civil militia.

The "total objectors", who have served a prison term for refusing civilian service, receive no exceptions.

[30] In case of a crisis where reserve is partially activated, the automatic acceptance into civilian service is suspended.

Instead, those applying to the civilian service on grounds of conscience must demonstrate their personal, non-violent conviction to an investigation board.

[31] In addition, any conscript or activated reservist always has the right to be transferred to non-armed military service, regardless of eventual crisis.

After starting the supplemental service, the person is transferred to civilian reserve and cannot be ordered to serve in military duties at any time.

[33] Finnish conscription is based on the general duty of national defense, which applies to all citizens, regardless of their age or sex.

In the case of non-military emergency, a person may only be ordered to perform work pertaining to health care, civil defense or rescue operations.

The work carried out by the obligated person is regulated under the usual conditions of the field of employment and the standard union wages are paid for it.

[40] During a war or an armed crisis, the military has the power to order persons present in the area which is exposed to enemy attack to perform such work as is necessary for the maintenance of the troops or for the defense preparations.

According to the initiative, conscription is an expensive, sexist, and out-dated solution for combating any realistic threat scenarios of today.

Often, before the 1990s, a lot of private companies were hesitant to hire 20-year-olds if they had neither military service nor education to show for what they were doing during the previous two years.

Numerous pro-conscription letters and columns by officers and regional army heads were published in the summer of 2013 praising the benefits of military service.

The commanders of the Defence Forces have repeatedly claimed that conscription is a cost-effective method to defend the country.