A Finnish conscript says he was repeatedly ordered to take part in physically demanding duties and training at Santahamina’s Guard Jaeger Regiment despite having a fever, coughing up blood, and holding medical exemptions. According to the account, access to military doctors was at times extremely difficult, outside medical opinions were not always accepted, and he was told to return to base even after being diagnosed at Meilahti Hospital with pneumonia and influenza. The conscript, who says he was ill on and off for about two and a half months, described a wider wave of sickness in the barracks early this year, with many other recruits also reportedly suffering from infections.

The allegations, published by Iltalehti, have prompted an internal review by the Guard Jaeger Regiment, which said the claims are concerning and are now being investigated. The conscript alleges that medical leave was repeatedly ignored, that he had to perform tasks outdoors in freezing conditions, and that he was at one point forced into a nine-hour wrestling session while still sick. He and others also suspected indoor air problems in one of the barracks.

“I had never been that sick in my life. I had a 40-degree fever and could barely stay on my feet. Even then, I was told to come back to base. (….) It makes absolutely no sense to force seriously ill conscripts to return from leave. All that does is expose everyone else to infection. You are just spreading the illness through the barracks. (…) At first, I thought it would be a good place to serve. Instead, it has felt like a circus almost every day. So many people got sick that at one point only a couple of us were still healthy.”

Read the entire piece in Iltalehti.