U.S. Marines with 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, talk with Finnish Navy sailors with Coastal Brigade, Naval Reconnaissance Battalion, Naval Reconnaissance Company, about the capabilities of the U-600 Jurmo LCP Watercat M12 boat during Finnish weapons and boat familiarization training as part of exercise Narrow Waters 26 in Upinniemi, Finland, May 15, 2026. The familiarization training increased interoperability between allied forces and improved the Marines understanding of Finnish maritime capabilities and weapons systems. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Hunter J. Kuester)

A departing Finnish conscript has called for the restoration of the kotiuttamisraha, a payment for personnel completing military service, arguing that independent young adults can face an immediate financial gap upon discharge. Although the military provides food, accommodation support and a daily allowance, that assistance ends before many reservists receive their first salary. A financially sustainable return to civilian life should not depend on savings or parental support, he argues.

Writing in the Finnish Defence Forces’ Ruotuväki, Toivo Aalto also cites the latest Youth Barometer, according to which only 17% of young Finns view the future optimistically; less than half the proportion recorded four years earlier.

Read the entire piece in Ruotuvaki.