The leadership of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa was familiarised with the Finnish Defence Forces

Commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, Major General Russell A. Sanborn visited Northern Finland 6-8 September 2018. The visit was hosted by Commander of the Finnish Army, Lieutenant General Petri Hulkko.

During the course of the visit, Major General Sanborn was briefed on how the troops of Northern Finland operate in general, and on their sustained cooperation with the Finnish Border Guard. Major General Sanborn became familiar with, among others, the training, equipment and live fire exercise of a readiness unit in Rovajärvi, and visited the Lapland Air Command in Rovaniemi.

The visit involved examining bilateral cooperation opportunities and training exercise cooperation over the coming years. Unit elements of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe have partaken in the Finnish Army’s training exercise activities, for instance, by attending the exercise Arrow 18 in Niinisalo in May 2018, and, as of 2014, by participating in the course given on winter warfare basics organised by the Jaeger Brigade.