The official inauguration of NATO’s Multi-Corps Land Component Command Northwest is held in Mikkeli

Army
Publication date 3.10.2025 14.32
Type:Press release
Staff standing with their backs to the camera. The flags of Denmark, the United States, Finland, Norway, and Sweden fly behind the staff. The flags of Finland and NATO are also visible in the background on the right.
The opening ceremony was attended by personnel serving in the MCLCC and Army Command Finland, as well as distinguished guests.

NATO’s Multi-Corps Land Component Command Northwest (MCLCC-NW) celebrates its official inauguration on the 3rd of October, 2025, in Mikkeli. The flags of the current nations for the Core Staff Element are raised together with the NATO flag.

– I thank our Allies for their support in establishing the command in Finland, and I would like to extend a warm welcome to the international staff of the command. We have an important task ahead of us. As a response to the dangerous state of the international security situation we are now renewing and strengthening NATO with unprecedented strength. The MCLCC is tasked with bolstering NATO’s defence in the High North so that we will be able to guarantee the security of our region for years to come, says Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.

The task of the MCLCC-NW involves command and control of the Alliance’s land forces and synchronization of national land forces’ operation in the Northern area. This means, among other, planning, preparing and directing the Alliance’s combined training exercise activity.

– The flag-raising ceremony for the Multi Corps Land Component Command North West (MCLCC-NW) is not just a formal event; it symbolically represents what we have achieved so far and where we must go next, says Lieutenant General Jez Bennett, the Deputy Commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command.

– Before you today stand the first group of international military staff who have now arrived in Mikkeli ‘badged’ as NATO personnel. Their numbers will continue to grow in the coming months, representing the commitment of Allied nations to both Finland and to our Alliance.

NATO’s new Multi-Corps Land Component Command Northwest became operational at Mikkeli in conjunction with the Army Command on 1 September 2025. Operating started with the strength of eight personnel.

For additional information: Requests for additional information to Chief of Public Affairs, The Finnish Army, Päivi Hurttia, [email protected].