2010
Working Group on the Conscript System: Final Report
ABSTRACT
We believe that conscription is the most cost-efficient way of producing the capability needed for defending Finland. The cost of even rather modest professional armed forces greatly exceeds that of a conscription based system. Joining an alliance would not have a significant impact on conscription because, even as a member of an alliance, Finland would ultimately be responsible for defending its own territory. Being able to defend Finland requires a defensive system where land, naval and air defence and joint capabilities are balanced.
Conscription is first and foremost a means for defending Finland. Its primary objective is defensive capability. Furthermore, conscription also has positive social effects. When well realised, conscription:
- Connects the different actors in society
- Promotes social values, national defence will and
social peace
- Provides young men and women with versatile skills, some of the most
significant of which include leadership training, driver training and
first aid training
- Teaches social and group skills
- Prevents social exclusion
- Facilitates immigrant integration
- Promotes public health
- Provides data and material for research
- Produces a military reserve that can also support other authorities
- Produces personnel for crisis management tasks
- Acts as a recruitment channel for the Defence Forces and other authorities.
We have found that assessing the social effects of conscription is a challenging task. Conscription is associated with many immaterial values that are difficult to determine and the significance of which is difficult to evaluate. The chains of effects are often long and complicated, and they reach many different administrative sectors. There is not much research information available on the social effects of military service. The main problem in evaluating the social effects is that there is no suitable reference group with which the conscripts can be compared. Often, the advantages are expressed in the personal experiences and accounts of those who have completed their military service. There are many aspects that simply cannot be measured.
Already by the mid-2010s, the decrease in resources of the public economy will require that cuts be made in the strength of the Defence Forces in normal conditions, and that procedures be revised. Since we do not see increases in the defence budget as a realistic possibility, significant cuts must be made to the amount of combat-efficient war time forces. In the future, there are no resources to replace ageing military equipment in adequate numbers with new equipment without a significant increase in the defence budget.
The financial challenges will also affect the development of conscription. Currently, the operating costs are the only flexible element where concessions can be made in case of financing problems. For reasons relating to regional politics, it has been difficult to make changes to the organisational structure, even though by reducing it, significant financial leeway could be achieved. It should be possible to deviate from the principle of a good employer and make redundancies, if required by the financial situation.
Problems relating to operating costs have been manifested in different ways. For conscripts serving six months, the allocated number of days in field exercises has been decreased from 40 to 30 days. Furthermore, Air Force flight hours and Navy sea days have been regulated according to the financial situation, and there have been cuts in refresher training for reservists. Sooner or later, continuous reductions and cutbacks will have a negative effect on the motivation of personnel as well as the credibility of, and willingness for, national defence.
In order to ensure efficient conscription, all men and voluntary women who are fit for service must have the right to serve in the military. However, there is no need to increase the number of conscripts for the sake of force production. Finland should not change over to selective conscription. Selective conscription would eventually lead to people no longer considering military service as an obligation. The motivation to serve in the military would drop, and conscription would be phased out. Voluntary conscription is not a functional solution. There would not be enough volunteers.
Positive experiences have been gained from the voluntary military service for women. Conscription should not be mandatory for women. Instead, the information distributed to women must be improved and women's participation in voluntary military service must be supported. It is in this way that the Defence Forces would be able to utilise the best resources of the entire age group, albeit there is no need for mandatory military service for women. Women must have access to an online information system that provides the same information about military service as is provided to men. Furthermore, female volunteers must have the right to attend municipal call-up events. The call-up events can be shared by men and women, but they need to have a short, separate section for women in which a female volunteer who has completed her military service gives practical advice about the service. Furthermore, the preliminary physical examination must also be free-of-charge for women.
The Finnish Defence Forces train nearly the entire male age group at the approximate age of 20 years. Conscription requires more transparency towards the rest of society than professional armed forces do. This means that the Defence Forces must be in the front line of social change, understand the change and its impact on young people. In order to keep the conscription system in place, and publicly acceptable, it is important how the Defence Forces are perceived as part of society – are they seen as an outdated, rigid organisation or a modern and advanced one that responds to the challenges of society.
Through versatile education and training, the Defence Forces must be able to more effectively introduce into the military service functions that serve both the individual and society. In addition, this will promote the acceptability of general conscription and the motivation to serve in the military.
Conscription supports other authorities in significant ways. It is a direct recruitment channel and a place of education that meets the needs of also other authorities. When their wartime duties are ended, reservists should be encouraged to seek positions within structures preparing for exceptional conditions under the responsibility of other authorities. Such duties should be presented on the websites of rescue departments or municipalities. Collaboration between different authorities should be increased, so that the unallocated reserve can be better used for supporting other authorities. A shared reservation register should be established.
Through conscription, Finland has the opportunity to recruit skilled individuals for international military crisis management tasks. It is to be hoped that women would take part in crisis management tasks more actively than is currently the case.
Conscription is an essential factor in the military defence of Finland. Furthermore, the Defence Forces are seen by the Finnish people, both old and young, as one of the most trusted institutions in society. Maintaining these results identified in opinion polls is crucial for keeping conscription functional. Therefore, the Defence Forces’ personnel must understand the task entrusted to them, the primary content of which is to produce troops for defending Finland, but that also has many additional social effects. Thorough work in conscript training ensures the best long-term results for society. Conscript instructors are in a key position here. Their wishes must be taken into account, and the operating culture must be adjusted accordingly. The Defence Forces must support and value their conscript instructors. The personnel organisation is undergoing restructuring, and the number of young non-commissioned officers is increased in military units that train conscripts. Especially these young instructors need support and guidance for successful conscript training.
Nowadays, modern conscription is a concise training package. The wartime unit is formed towards the end of the term of service. Currently, basic military units that train conscripts are understaffed considering the demands set for training and the number of conscripts. The number of instructors in basic units must be increased. Troops are being produced at too rapid a pace; after one set of conscripts muster out, the training personnel should have a short period for rest and planning before the next set arrives.
High willingness for national defence, the Finnish people’s extensive support for conscription and the high percentage of those who complete their military service do not mean that there is no need for development within the Finnish conscription system. In recent years, the Defence Forces have started several procedures for renewing and developing military service to better motivate conscripts individually. This work should be continued.
In order for conscription to work, it must be motivating for conscripts. The civil skills of conscripts must be utilised better than before. The call-up system must be developed so that it will provide conscripts with all the necessary information on military service early enough and take into account the conscripts’ wishes concerning the location and time of their military service. We must develop an information system for conscripts, where they feel they are treated as individuals and not just as a part of a large group. Advance information about conscription must be increased. The call-up events are the final possibility to reach the entire male age group at once. This opportunity should be utilised extensively. By increasing the participation of other significant social actors, the call-up process can be developed in a direction that supports other social functions.
Improving individual motivation and providing different options becomes more important, as young people expect individual treatment. Conscripts should be encouraged to give feedback – both positive and negative – already during their military service. The training should be developed in a meaningful direction by increasing the use of simulators and developing absolute indicators of the troop’s know-how. Rewarding, awarding merit badges and giving public recognition are all important parts of individual motivation. All conscripts, regardless of their service class, must have meaningful duties and be provided with a certificate for all the skills and work experience gained during their military service.
We believe it is important that the completion of military service should be supported by various financial measures. Such incentives include the daily allowance and the reforming of the leave system, so that all trips made nationally while on furlough are reimbursed. Of these, the daily allowance influences service motivation the most. Other possible incentives are considering military service for pension accrual, and tax benefits. The mustering-out payment should be reinstated. The incentives should be graded so that also the longer terms of service are motivating and a sufficient number of qualified young people can be found to fill them.
Military service teaches many useful skills. It is challenging to assess the social effect of these skills. Giving credits for military service should be developed in cooperation with educational institutions. In the future, military service must be better connected with studies and working life. Conscription must be seen as part of a lifelong educational system.
An individual is motivated by being able to do something that he or she is good at. Conscripts must be supported so that they are well prepared to use their leadership skills both during military service and in their leisure time. The conscripts should be guaranteed memorable and challenging experiences. Each young person should feel at the end of their military service that it was well worth the effort.
We believe that better care must be taken of military reservists. They must feel that the Defence Forces are interested in their skills and development. Through a conscript information system, the Defence Forces can communicate topical matters to the reservists, provide them with up-to-date information and gain information on their wishes and the development of their skills. At the very least, reservists must be informed of the dissolution of their wartime placement and the ending of their liability for military service. For some military reserve duties, it can be arranged that reservists can apply for available positions.
The Defence Forces are in a good position to support public health efforts. The most significant possibility for military service to affect public health is when entry into military service provides a last opportunity for public, statutory contact with the country’s young men. For the part of the physical examination, this can also be extended to include women, if needed. Occasionally, the physical examinations for conscripts find illnesses that might not otherwise have been identified at an early enough stage. In addition, the examinations are a source of socially significant national health research data. They also provide an opportunity for identifying intoxicant and drug abuse and directing such individuals to care. Military service prevents social exclusion and promotes integration. These opportunities must be utilised more efficiently in collaboration with other authorities.
According to research, military service improves physical fitness, decreases body fat percentage and mass, increases muscle mass, decreases body weight, slims the waistline, and improves the blood pressure count. The greatest positive effect is seen during the first eight weeks and with conscripts that are in poor physical condition. Maintaining these positive health effects until the end of service is a challenge. If the healthy habits adopted during military service were to remain in place even after service, this would have an even more significant effect on public health.
However, not all the effects of military service on public health are positive. Smoking habits increase, but, on the other hand, there are no new smokers. The consumption of snuff increases. There are no significant changes in alcohol consumption, but consumption is focused on a single day during the week. Weekly binge drinking increases. In addition, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels increase.
We have looked at the models of national defence from different perspectives of the national economy. Based on the surveys that we have conducted, we have concluded that conscription is economically the most viable way to form the defensive capability needed to protect Finland. Conscription produces a sufficiently large military reserve with the necessary skills, it is cost-efficient and enables the use of know-how acquired elsewhere in society within military service. The total cost of the current defence system is €4.8 billion per year. The current system will continue to produce a reserve of 250,000 soldiers, and it is more affordable than for instance professional armed forces of 60,000 soldiers. Just considering taxation, a professional armed forces of 60,000 soldiers would increase the cost for society by more than €2 billion, and considering the welfare effects, it would be nearly €4 billion more expensive than the current system.
Funding for defence must be allocated as required by the development of the security environment and the duties of the Defence Forces. Budget cuts must not be made based only the situation of the state economy. Due to the difficult situation that the state economy is in, the defence budget will not be able to meet the needs of the current requirements. This, too, speaks for maintaining the conscription system, because it is considerably less expensive than professional armed forces.
Conscription affects the entire society. Because of this, different administrative sectors of Finnish society must develop their cooperation without prejudice in order to maximise the social benefits of the conscription system. We have seen that different administrative sectors do not always work in a rational way considering the overall perspective. Taking the overall perspective into account in different administrative sectors would also increase the social benefits brought by conscription.
As overall conclusions of our work, we present that:
a) The conscription system be maintained
* The entire male age group fit for service undergoes military service
training
* There are no grounds for a transition to professional forces
* Military alliance would not have considerable impacts on the
conscription system
* In the next few years, the Defence Forces must undergo a structural reform, which at the same time will secure the position of the conscription system
* Military service remains voluntary for women
* Voluntary military service for women is supported especially by providing more information
* The special know-how of conscripts is utilised more extensively than before
b) Financial latitude is created so as to avoid continuous small changes
* Investigating the possibilities of transitioning partly to a four-month term of service
* Introducing other reforms that create financial latitude
c) Operating models are developed further
* Developing a conscript information system that provides the Defence Forces with more information about the conscripts and vice versa
* Utilising the call-up events as a platform, which allows for the individual, various authorities and actors to meet and exchange information that benefits both the individual and the different actors
* Developing the initial survey and feedback systems in a way that allows for giving open feedback and learning from good practices
* Developing a centralised social reservation register
* Improving the cooperation between different administrative sectors and authorities
d) The position of conscripts is improved
* Improving the financial standing of conscripts
* Connecting conscription with the lifelong educational system where credit is given for the skills acquired during military service in civilian studies and the working life as well as possible
* Developing different reward systems for conscripts
* Promoting healthy lifestyles among conscripts
* Implementing the "timeout" operating model in all municipalities
e) Resources are allocated
- Supporting instructors of conscripts in their demanding work and especially paying attention to supporting young instructors
- Increasing the number of the training personnel in military units that train conscripts
In conclusion, we present that the conscription system must be developed in a way that:
* Supports the completion of the Defence Forces’ statutory duties
* Increases the positive effects that conscription has on society
* Makes military service more meaningful and motivating for conscripts and
* Is economically viable considering the relationship between input and output.