National Defence Courses

For decades, Finland's foreign, security and defence policy has been based on a system of foreign policy and total defence that covers the different sectors of administration. The system is to guarantee the independence of our country and to secure the citizens  livelihood.

As a result of the creation of new - not traditional - threat scenarios, global and deepened security thinking in each sector has already led to still wider and deeper security cooperation between the different sectors of administration. This development trend?is expected to continue.

History

During the Second World War, the organizations that secured the vital functions of our state were almost without exception led by government representatives. In times of crisis, a great number of tasks that were taken care of by others in normal situations were transferred to the government.

After the end of the war, it was stated that for possible future crises, securing the  existence of the nation required that civil and military leaders in high positions should attend specially designesd courses intended for both soldiers and civilians. One of the aims was that the same leaders would be in charge of the organization both in?times of crisis and in of peace.

In 1960, the Defence Council established in 1956, approved a proposal to arrange joint courses for civilians and military persons. The supervision of the National Defence Courses would be with the Defence Council and the responsibility of implementing them with the Chief of Defence.

The opening of the first National Defence Course was held on 17th April 1961. Since then, 180 National Defence Courses have been arranged and a total of  7,094 persons in leading positions in society have attended the courses.

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The first female participants in a national defence course: Ms. Helvi Sipilä (right) and Ms. Marjatta Väänänen (left) participated in the 9th NDC in October 1963. The Course Director, Colonel Niilo Riuttala takes good care of them.

General teaching in national defence matters is organized under the supervision of the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy. The target of general national defence teaching is to provide a total view of Finnish foreign, security and defence policy and to improve knowledge in national defence and to enhance cooperation and readiness between the national defence organization and the other sectors in society. The courses are especially designed for civilians and military persons in leading positions, that are or will be in charge of central tasks regarding contingency planning and operation in exceptional conditions.

General national defence teaching consists of National Defence Courses and the Provincial Defence Courses and  their respective Advanced and Continuing Courses.

National Defence Courses comprise the National Defence Course, its Advanced Course, Continuing Course and the Special Course in National Defence.

National Defence Courses are administratively under the auspices of the National Defence University,  and responsible to the Chief of Defence for implementing and arranging the courses, and to the Chief of Staff of the Defence Command for planning and supervising them.

The objective of the National Defence Course is:

• To give civilians and military persons in leading positions a total view of Finnish foreign, security and defence policy and?to?explain?the organization, readiness and development of total defence and the other sectors in society in normal conditions, disturbances and exceptional circumstances

• To orientate the participants to the different tasks in total defence and to the possibility of implementing them, including also mutual interaction in normal conditions, disturbances and exceptional circumstances.

• To promote, in disturbances and exceptional circumstances, the mutual cooperation between national defence and the persons, who serve or are planned to serve in the vital tasks of the different sectors in the whole society, and the communities they represent.

The aim of the Advanced and Continuing National Defence Course is to give those attending up-to-date information on the different sectors in total defence, while taking in to consideration the length of time since they last attended the course.

About five years after the end of the course, former National Defence Course participants are invited to a two-day Advanced Course, and again, after some five years, to a one-day Continuing Course. The aim of the advanced and continuing courses is to update the participants on the most important and current changes in the field of total defence.

The objective and content of the Special Course in National Defence are separately determined according to the target group, but one of the aims in teaching is, however, to give a total view of Finnish foreign, security and defence policy and to broaden the participants? knowledge on national defence and to enhance the cooperation and readiness between the defence sector and the other sectors of society.

The National Defence Courses  impact on society is based on the high level and great expertise of teaching and teachers. This social impact also requires the course to be conducted in a first-class manner to achieve the goals set for it.

The curriculum of the National Defence Course is divided into the following subjects:

• Basic knowledge of foreign, security and defence policy as well as total defence 28%

• Military defence 21%

• Internal security 12%

• Functioning of society and economy 20%

• Communication 9%

• Other fields of totaldefence 5%

• Applied exercise (included in other subjects)

• Arrangements etc. 5%

An example of how a 3.5-week (15 work days) National Defence Course is conducted.

The weekly programme of the course is planned and devised so that theory lessons in class and various visits and the applied exercise form a balanced entity.

Studies are pursued by attending lectures and doing group work. Basic knowledge of the applied exercise, to be done as group work, is given at the lectures. A normal lecture day consists of classroom teaching from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon.

To enliven teaching, several visits are arranged on the course days to targets that are vital for total defence. These visits are often made outside office hours.

The aim of the applied exercise, which forms a vital part of the course, is to deepen the matters learnt at the course and to apply them in practice. In the exercise, a crisis affecting our society in many ways is pondered and solved in work groups that act in the role of different ministries.

An important entity of the course is formed of the so-called boarding school phase, which is implemented in separately chosen garrisons.

Subordinate to the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy, general national defence education is supervised by the Advisory Board for National Defence Education. The board includes a chair and the number of members confirmed by the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy. The Chief of the Defence Command is the chair. The Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy chooses board?members among representatives of the defence administration and other sectors so that fields that are functionally and socially important for national defence are represented in the best possible way.

Included in the tasks of the Cabinet Advisory Board for National Defence Education are:

• ?To confirm the duration and implementation of National Defence Courses

• To handle the proposals regarding the persons to be invited on the National Defence Courses, and for its part, to admit them.

Examples of selection criteria that primarily determine the list of candidates: task-related selection requirements, consideration of how national defence and the other sectors of society are represented, equality of regional representation and gender being a great as possible, and the maximum strengths in each sector and course.

Participation in a National Defence Course is by invitation only. Once the Advisory Board for National Defence Education has accepted a proposed candidate, the aim is to forward the invitations to the participants in good time.

The Chief of Defence invites the participants to the courses whom the Advisory Board for National Defence Education has admitted or who have been separately presented to him.

Postal address of the National Defence Courses:

National Defence Courses
P.O. Box 266
FI-00171 HELSINKI
FINLAND

Telephone: +358 9 181 26291 until 31.3.2009, new number of the operator +358 299 800

E-mail: maanpuolustuskurssit@mil.fi

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Last updated Mar 26th 2009 09:30