Winter Combat Course in Sodankylä 6 – 19 January 2024

Skills required in winter circumstances will be trained again at the Jaeger Brigade on the Winter Combat Course from 6 to 19 January 2024. In addition to Finnish soldiers, 17 foreign soldiers from the USA, Estonia, France, Belgium and Great Britain will take part on the course.

The Jaeger Brigade’s Arctic training professionals will teach the participants personal survival skills, combat techniques and methods to maintaining combat capability required in winter circumstances. The goal is to make the participants understand the effect of winter conditions on a unit’s performance capability, combat techniques, and the way of conducting combat tasks. Among other things, the course participants will be taught the relevance of clothing, hydration, rest and nutrition for the maintenance of combat capability in winter conditions and how to take these aspects into account in different situations.  

The course comprises a teaching and a field training exercise phase.  After being taught the basics of winter warfare and the survival skills relating to the maintenance of combat capability, the soldiers’ skills will be tested in a field training exercise. 

The participation of the foreign soldiers in the Winter Combat Course is part of the Army’s international training cooperation.  The experiences gained from courses will be incorporated into domestic training and the development of national defence.