Air Force Academy expands soldier resilience training to reservists

The Finnish Air Force Academy has expanded its training model for supporting soldiers’ mental and physical resilience to reservists, Yle reports. The model was introduced for the first time at a large reservist exercise in Jyväskylä in August.

The three-day Suhina 2026 exercise was organised by the Luonetjärvi training site of the National Defence Training Association’s Air Defence District from 21 to 23 August. About 60 reservists took part in seven courses, including drone operations, base protection, command and support.

The training focused on how soldiers can maintain their overall ability to function in exceptional circumstances. The exercise also introduced the support combatant model to reservists for the first time. Under the model, soldiers provide peer support to one another during exceptional circumstances.

The Air Force Academy has trained some conscripts as support combatants since 2022. The Finnish Defence Forces are currently developing peer-support models in different branches, and support combatants have also been trained at the Kainuu Brigade in the Army.

Sleep deprivation can make basic tasks difficult

Reservist Sergeant Betty Lampinen, who planned the exercise, said maintaining overall operational capacity was made a priority based on experiences from earlier exercises.

“For some, previous exercises have involved fatigue and even burnout. We thought this was something we could address through training,” Lampinen said.

Reservists had to operate with limited sleep and small portions of food. In field exercises, simple tasks such as drinking water or changing socks can be forgotten. Sleep deprivation, cold conditions and insufficient food can cause soldiers’ energy levels to drop suddenly.

The participants learned how to monitor their own wellbeing and that of their colleagues. When necessary, they reminded one another to drink water, for example.

Reservist Corporal Eemeli Laukkanen said the training had given him tools to look after his own wellbeing and that of fellow reservists.

“The mental and physical strain here is more demanding for most of us than everyday work. That is why these things need to be practised consciously, so that they become routine,” he said.

Training could expand to other locations

The Air Defence District has previously organised basic, advanced and specialist courses on maintaining overall operational capacity. The model was piloted for the first time in a large, applied exercise in Jyväskylä.

Instructors from other training sites in the Air Defence District also took part, including Rissala in Siilinjärvi, Pirkkala in Pirkanmaa and locations in Lapland.

Lampinen said she hoped training in mental and physical resilience would expand to other sites. She said soldiers need to practise operating at the limits of their resilience because the strain in a real situation could last for weeks or months.

“It is not enough to manage only one weekend of this work,” she said.