Average conscript age??????

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gsep
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:34 am

Average conscript age??????

Post by gsep » Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:53 am

Hi, I have a Finnish citizenship however I have lived in Canada my whole life. I want to do the 6 months f military service next year, I will be 28. Will there be others around my age doing the same? or will i be that wierd old Canadian guy?



Average conscript age??????

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Upphew
Posts: 10748
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:55 pm
Location: Lappeenranta

Re: Average conscript age??????

Post by Upphew » Fri Jun 16, 2017 10:57 am

gsep wrote:Hi, I have a Finnish citizenship however I have lived in Canada my whole life. I want to do the 6 months f military service next year, I will be 28. Will there be others around my age doing the same? or will i be that wierd old Canadian guy?
You'll be the weird Canuck. Being the adult in group of teens won't be fun. We had one when I was in army. Also doing only 6 months when you are the most responsible person in group won't be likely. You will get pressured to take some kind of leadership or specialist role and that will mean longer service than 6 months.
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gsep
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:34 am

Re: Average conscript age??????

Post by gsep » Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:32 pm

Upphew wrote:
gsep wrote:Hi, I have a Finnish citizenship however I have lived in Canada my whole life. I want to do the 6 months f military service next year, I will be 28. Will there be others around my age doing the same? or will i be that wierd old Canadian guy?
You'll be the weird Canuck. Being the adult in group of teens won't be fun. We had one when I was in army. Also doing only 6 months when you are the most responsible person in group won't be likely. You will get pressured to take some kind of leadership or specialist role and that will mean longer service than 6 months.
Are you suggesting I avoid the military service at my age? I want to start my masters degree in the fall of 2018, I thought the military would be a good way to learn the language and meet some people before hand, and from what I understand it would pay somewhat!

amerilain
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:22 am

Re: Average conscript age??????

Post by amerilain » Sat Jun 17, 2017 10:45 pm

I'm an American/Finn and did my service when I was 29. I was at Santahamina where there were many other non-native Finnish conscripts. The average age of a conscript is around 19 or 20 I'd guess, but among the "foreigners" it's a little older. There was another guy my age in my company who later dropped out for some reason or another and a few other guys around 24 or 25. But otherwise, most are also young.

The biggest drawback to doing the military service at such a late age is having a 19 year old kid in your face playing tough-guy sergeant, telling you what to do. However, the foreign conscripts got away with more !"#¤% and no one really expected - or wanted - us to take on leadership roles. Most, including myself didn't speak Finnish. You'll learn some commands, words, and phrases, but probably won't get too fluent unless you really put in the effort to practice and study on your own time.

Overall I had a good experience and am glad I did it. The "final war" was awesome and basically a week of playing Rambo in the forrest. Now, when talking with Finnish guys, they're happy to hear that I was in the army and enjoy trading stories. Go in with a good attitude and don't take yourself too seriously and you'll be fine.

SuomiJim
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 4:35 pm

Re: Average conscript age??????

Post by SuomiJim » Thu Jul 13, 2017 8:57 pm

Hi, I am a dual national Brit-Finn who lives in Finland and I have just finished my 6 month national service as a Meritiedustelija (Recon) in Upinniemi at the humble age of 30. When I started I spoke a little bit of book Finnish but as I have come to learn this is very different from the spoken. I was very well received and although the first couple of weeks were tough initially when getting used to the environment and getting to know people, the overall experience was great!

I started at 29 and turned 30 a couple of weeks later. Most were 19-20 with a few in there mid-20's but to be honest it made little to no difference. In there, wearing all the same clothes etc. you sort of can't tell how old people are. I think it did gain me some respect from my peers and leaders and when I would talk to people they would often just laugh and say 'poor you, we have to put up with this sh*t and we are native and young!'. I think they were perhaps a little more lenient because of me being a dual national and perhaps because of my age but overall there was no different treatment.

I would say if you fancy it, go for it. Like I say the first 2 weeks of basic are pretty bad but after that things improve and I really look back on my Intti experience with lots of fond memories and like they say over here 'Aika Kultaa Muistot' which basically translates to: time makes the memories golden. This is very true, at times when you are in, it feels like it's never going to end but once finished it's like wow that was cool.

On another note, I think if you are looking to move to Finland or you are living here already, it stands you in very good stead for employment as it is still highly valued and also shows your commitment being a dual national.

If you need any more info, feel free to give me a shout.

All the best!

Upphew
Posts: 10748
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:55 pm
Location: Lappeenranta

Re: Average conscript age??????

Post by Upphew » Fri Jul 14, 2017 10:35 am

SuomiJim wrote:I would say if you fancy it, go for it. Like I say the first 2 weeks of basic are pretty bad but after that things improve and I really look back on my Intti experience with lots of fond memories and like they say over here 'Aika Kultaa Muistot' which basically translates to: time makes the memories golden. This is very true, at times when you are in, it feels like it's never going to end but once finished it's like wow that was cool.
And it was in the news today, that everybody gets to sotilaskoti from day one. Seems like the first few weeks aren't that bad anymore.
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