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In Finland, the army exists for the purpose of defending Finland against attack. Hence the name: Finnish Defence Forces. Finnish males serve a mandatory 6-12
by metafunctor 9y ago
In Finland, the army exists for the purpose of defending Finland against attack. Hence the name: Finnish Defence Forces.
Finnish males serve a mandatory 6-12 months in the Finnish Defence Forces. It's a citizen's duty here; some people opt for a civil service duty.
Thus, when asked a question like this, most Finns will automatically assume defending Finland against a military attack.
- ChemicalWarfare 9y ago>>Hence the name: Finnish Defence Forces. "Wehrmacht" means something along the lines of the "defense force" too. Not saying the rest of your reasoning is wrong, just pointing out that calling your army a "defense force" doesn't necessarily mean that it's used for defense only...
- AnimalMuppet 9y agoDoes it? I thought "Wehr" translated to "War". (Disclaimer: I don't actually speak German.)
- ChemicalWarfare 9y agoIt does. "War" would be "Krieg".
- moogly 9y agoMany countries' military have gone through that name change to make it sound more palatable. It's basic PR. I live in Finland's neighbour country Sweden where as late as 1974, the Swedish Armed Forces were still named "Krigsmakten" as opposed to post-1975 "Försvarsmakten" ("krig" = "war", "försvar" = "defence").
- Belphemur 9y agoA little of geographical context could help other understand, Finland situation. Finland has a border with Russia and a big history with them. Lots of Finn I met think Russia could come any day hence the need for a military force ready to fight.
- oblio 9y agoWhile I agree with you, the first point is not as solid as it seems. "Wehrmacht" also means "defense force" :)