FORT BELVOIR, Va. — Virginia National Guard leaders hosted Lt. Gen. Pasi Välimäki, commander of the Finnish Army, Oct 12, 2024, in support of the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program. This visit comes after Virginia and Finland became SPP partners earlier this year.
The visit, hosted at the National Museum of the United States Army, reaffirmed the bilateral commitment between the VNG’s 29th Infantry Division and their Finnish Army partners and provided a roadmap for joint engagement between Soldiers of the 29th and the Finnish Army.
“We live in an age where potential conflict is at our doorstep,” said Maj. Gen. James Ring, the adjutant general of Virginia. “This visit helps us set the conditions for strengthening our partnership with Finland and our European alliance as we expand the opportunities for engagement.”
In May, 13 months after becoming the 31st member of NATO, the Finnish Ministry of Defense formalized its longstanding partnership with the Virginia National Guard when Antti Häkkänen, Finish minister of defense, signed an SPP agreement with Virginia centered on joint exchanges and enhancing interoperability.
This relationship between the Finnish Army and the 29th Infantry Division dates to the early 2000s, when leaders from the two forces deployed for peacekeeping operations to Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of NATO’s Stabilization Force. Since then, the two forces have engaged in joint training and partnership-building activities in the United States and Finland.
“This partnership means our Soldiers have the opportunity to see our allies and partners in action and trade tactics, techniques and procedures and best practices,” said Maj. Gen. Joseph DiNonno, commander of the 29th Infantry Division. “We learn from them, they learn from us because we realize the way to win in large wars is through partnerships.”
The exchange at Fort Belvoir built upon the decades of cooperation to identify new opportunities to further integrate Soldiers from the two forces during annual trainings in Virginia, to Combat Training Center rotations at Fort Irwin, California, and Fort Johnson, Louisiana.
“We have to do everything to prepare our soldiers, and that’s why we’re talking about exchange opportunities at the staff level and at the troop level so that we have a solid understanding of how we fight as a unified team at any level, from the brigade to the company and the platoon,” said Välimäki.
In addition to joining NATO, Finland and U.S. officials signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement in 2023, paving the way for increased collaboration and the use of military bases, equipment and supplies throughout Finland. As part of this deepening relationship, leaders from the VNG have been working with their Finnish counterparts to identify opportunities to expose 29th ID Soldiers to operations in the Arctic and cold weather environments and share best practices and tactics.
“We can always learn something from each other, and now is the time to do these exchanges and train together,” said Välimäki. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in Virginia or Finland because, for me, this is about the Soldiers and ensuring we have the best possible skill sets, processes and the technology to support them.”
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