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Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army on a visit to Northern Finland

Army
Publication date 22.12.2022 10.15
Press release
Photo: Lapland Border Guard District

General McConville met Commander of the Finnish Army, and familiarised with the activity of the Finnish Border Guard.

Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General James C. McConville visited Northern Finland on 18-19 December. The visit was hosted by Commander of the Finnish Army, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki. General McConville also met representatives of the Jaeger Brigade, and familiarised with the activity of the Lapland Border Guard District in Inari.

During the visit, General McConville and Lieutenant General Välimäki discussed bilateral cooperation between the Finnish Army and the U.S. Army, observations and developments. This year, the two nations’ cooperation has intensified, and the U.S. Army has participated extensively in the Finnish Army training and exercise activity in Finland.

- Combined exercise activity will continue also next year, which allows developing our joint operating capability further. Structured and pragmatic training and exercise activity will provide us an excellent opportunity to learn from each other, Lieutenant General Välimäki says.

- We appreciate the hospitality we received from Lieutenant General Välimäki and the Finnish Army during our visit. Our visit reminded us not only of the value of our partnership, but of the how critical this relationship is to our combined readiness, General McConville says. 

- Arctic capable forces are essential to the US Army’s ability to fight and win in large scale combat operations. Our friends in Finland are experts in Arctic Warfare and we are gaining tremendous lessons from them. Our continued partnership with the Finnish Army is invaluable as American Soldiers build mastery in extreme cold weather environments.

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