Finnish Army will participate in international Saber Strike 17 exercise led by the USA from 3 - 16 June 2017 in Estonia.
A total of approximately 55 persons from the Pori Brigade will participate in the exercise. Most of the participants are reservists who have undergone Finnish Rapid Deployment Force training during their military service.
The troop will form a combat engineer platoon as part of a multinational battle group. In addition to this, headquarters and support staff will also participate in the exercise.
The platoon is currently preceded by another Rapid Deployment Force-trained engineer platoon in the live exercise Kevad Torm taking place in Estonia from 14-25 May 2017.
The aim of the exercise is to develop the interoperability and capability of the troops and practice among other things planning, preparation and leadership procedures relating to international activities. Participation in the exercise is included in the annual plan on the Defence Forces' international activities. Sabre Strike 17 is an exercise arranged in the Baltic countries. Finland has taken part since 2012 in various compositions. A total of approximately 11,500 persons from 18 countries will participate in Sabre Strike 17 and exercises relating to it.
International cooperation enables training troops for among other things crisis management tasks in accordance with the third main task of the Finnish Defence Forces. In addition to this, international training improves the Defence Forces' capability to provide and receive international assistance in a possible crisis situation.
