Finland recruits all adult males into national military service lasting 180-365 days. After completing service conscripts join the reserve and this arrangement makes the hypothetical war time strength of the Finnish Defence Forces 280 000 soldiers. If we were to join NATO, which I don’t think we should. We must make the national military service an optional choice. Mandatory service in a NATO country is a horrible idea. It would drive young conscripts to pursue military careers in NATO operations, most of which have disastrous.
Why not join NATO? Because NATO has not changed. Every reason ever spoken against joining is still valid. What has changed is how the Russian state behaves. But this does not make NATO any different, it’s the same world-policing military alliance it was designed to be when conceived. It’s acceptive to dictators, conservative extremist pushing against democratic development and succumbing to the imperial desires of the the United States. It is a post-modern crusade, which our right wing political leaders and generals, are eager to partake in as it would be beneficial for establish ties with the west. The west they desire to join is an unmanned drone craft floating above, observing and punishing.
If Finland joins it, I will actively campaign against mandatory national military service. We will have to change our constitution – Perhaps dismantle our “defence force” all together. By the looks of it, in NATO we wouldn’t need military forces at all. We’d have nuclear weapons at arms reach, which seems to be the only asset that counts. I’m a corporal in the marines (in a unit which no longer exists), it won’t make much difference but if we join I’ll resign from the reserve.