Virginia Guard Enlisted Leaders Meet with Finnish Partners

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia National Guard senior enlisted leadership traveled to Finland Aug. 19-23 to collaborate with members of the Finnish Defence Forces on a plan for joint enlisted training and exercise and development for 2025 to 2027.

Command Chief Master Sgt. Kelly B. Reich, the Virginia National Guard senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Irving Reed Jr., the Virginia Army National Guard command sergeant major, Chief Master Sgt. Ian Stegherr, Virginia Air National Guard state command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Sean Fretwell, 192nd Wing Command Chief, and Senior Master Sgt. Justin Connor, 192nd Security Forces senior enlisted leader, met with senior enlisted leaders from the Finnish Defense Forces.

"The intent of our engagement was to facilitate interoperability between U.S. and Finnish enlisted tactical level operators and subject matter experts to develop and equip our forces through training and exercises with the diverse skills needed for wartime operational mission readiness," Reich said. "We [VNG senior enlisted leaders] want to elevate Soldiers and Airmen to operate throughout the spectrum of conflict, ensuring wartime readiness. We must prepare for and be successful in the next fight."

The Finnish Defence Force is focused on continuing to build its NCO corps.

"We're focused on building social capabilities and trust within the NCO [noncommissioned officer] ranks for better collaboration between the NCO corps and officers and enable NCOs to talk strategy with officers and bring battlefield experience," said Master Sgt. Enrico Annus, Finnish Special Operations Forces Command senior enlisted leader. "So we have ready, trained, and well-adapted NCOs supported by the entirety of Finland."

"It's a really good time in Finland to be an NCO - young and old - because of opportunities," said Sgt. Maj. Esa Ek, the Finnish Army Command senior enlister leader. "As CSELs [Command senior enlisted leaders] and SNCOs [senior noncommissioned officers], we need to show them that path."

Earlier this year, the Virginia National Guard and Finland officially became partners under the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program. SPP has been a cornerstone for building enduring partnerships between U.S. states and more than 100 nations for over 30 years. Through the SPP, U.S. National Guard units and partner-nation forces engage in activities ranging from joint training exercises and personnel exchanges to disaster response and humanitarian aid initiatives.

During last month's exchange, VNG senior enlisted leaders heard from Russia experts at the National Defence University about the changing character of war.

"Finland doesn't have defense forces; Finland is the defense force," said Ek. "This is the mindset of all of Finland. We have 1,340 [length in kilometers of their Eastern border] reasons to have this mindset!"

Reich said the group was impressed with the Finns' use of the virtual battle space for training.

"Quality is our strength," said Lt. Col. Akseli Heikkinen, Satakunta Air Wing Headquarters.

"In today's rapidly changing world, VNG and Finnish senior enlisted leaders are focused on recruiting and retention, wartime readiness, and modernization," Reich said. "We need to set conditions for training and exercises that push Soldiers and Airmen out of their comfort zone, enable critical thinking, and build a highly effective and resilient Joint Force so we can overcome surprise factors in the next fight."

The SPP agreement between the VNG and Finnish Defense Forces builds on several decades of partnership. Finnish troops served alongside the 29th Infantry Division in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2001-2002. VNG personnel have trained alongside their Finnish counterparts numerous times over the years. More recently, Virginia Soldiers and Airmen competed in a Finnish Sniper Championship, participated in the Arctic Forge 23 exercise and observed a defense exercise in Finland. Finnish personnel came to Virginia this summer to participate in a cybersecurity exercise.

"The U.S.-Finland affiliation has already proven to be mutually beneficial and it's just the beginning of a formal relationship rooted in courage, loyalty, pride in our heritage, the profession of warfighting, a combat mindset and trust," Reich said. "We're looking forward to future exchanges and continuing to build trust between our defense forces."

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