The Jaeger Brigade (''Jääkäriprikaati'') is a unit of the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraf ...

. The unit is located in

Sodankylä Sodankylä (; sme, Soađegilli ; smn, Suáđigil; sms, Suäʹđjel) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 ( E63) and along Highway 4 ( E75). The Kitinen River flows nea ...

and

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Pe ...

in Finnish Lapland, some north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...

. The brigade trains 1600

conscripts Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

per year. The brigade has two main units: Lapland Jaeger Battalion in Sodankylä and Lapland Air Defence Battalion at Rovaniemi air base.Organisaatio
. Finnish Defence Forces 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2015-06-19. The Jaeger Brigade specialises in training soldiers for the harsh climate of Lapland. The brigade is also responsible for developing arctic warfare tactics and equipment in cooperation with Swedish and Norwegian arctic forces. Their expertise in

cold-weather warfare Cold-weather warfare, also known as arctic warfare or winter warfare, encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, thawing conditions or cold, both on land and at sea. Cold-weather conditions occur year-round at high elevation or at ...

is widely recognized; members of the U.S. and other militaries come to Sodankylä in winter to learn from them. Troops are motorized by all-terrain vehicles

Sisu Nasu The Nasu (acronym for Nauha-Sisu, en, Track Sisu; also meaning " Piglet" in colloquial Finnish) is a tracked articulated, all-terrain transport vehicle developed by Sisu Auto for the Finnish Army. It consists of two units, with all four tracks p ...

and

Bandvagn 206 Bandvagn 206 (Bv 206) (meaning ''"Tracked Vehicle 206"'' in English) is a tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier developed by Hägglunds (now part of BAE Systems Platforms & Services) for the Swedish Army. It consists of two units, with all f ...

due their better movement on arctic conditions compared to heavy armed vehicles.

Organisation

* Lapland Jaeger Battalion (Lapin Jääkäripataljoona) in SodankyläLapin Jääkäripataljoona
. Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2015-06-09. **1st Jaeger Company (1. Jääkärikomppania) **2nd Jaeger Company (2. Jääkärikomppania) **3rd Jaeger Company (3. Jääkärikomppania) ** Headquarters Company (Esikuntakomppania) **Logistics Company (Huoltokomppania) **Support Company (Tukikomppania) *Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion (Rovaniemen Ilmatorjuntapatteristo)Rovaniemen ilmatorjuntapatteristo
. Finnish Defence Forces 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-19. **1st Air Defence Battery (1. Ilmatorjuntapatteri) **2nd Air Defence Battery (2. Ilmatorjuntapatteri) **Base Company (Tukikohtakomppania)

History

The Brigade follows the traditions of the 27th Prussian Jaeger Battalion, JR 27 (27th Infantry regiment) (which fought during the

Finnish civil war The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

) and the 6th Division (which fought during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

). In addition, the Brigade carries the traditions of Pohja Brigade, Ostrobothnia Jaeger Battalion ( fi, Pohjanmaan Jääkäripataljoona) In addition to these, the Brigade carries the traditions of numerous other historical units that have either been its organisational predecessors or manned by the men of Lapland.Historia ja perinteet
. Finnish Defence Forces. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2015-06-20. . The Lapland Jaeger Battalion traces back its roots to the 1st Bicycle Battalion, founded in 1921. That unit later formed the 1st Jaeger Battalion which fought during the Winter War and the Continuation War. Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion traces its lineage to the 151st Light Air Defence Battery, founded in 1941. In 1944, following the Continuation War, this unit became the 1st Battalion of Air Defence Regiment 2. In 1967, the unit received the provincial name of Ostrobothnia Air Defence Battalion ( fi, Pohjanmaan Ilmatorjuntapatteristo), which was changed to the current name in 1974. During 1989-2014, the battalion was part of Lapland Air Defence Regiment.

External links

Jääkäriprikaati

References

{{reflist Brigades of Finland Sodankylä Rovaniemi