Hedgehog 22 ended

From 18 to 28 May 2022, the Finnish Army participated in Hedgehog 22, a multinational exercise drill held in Estonia. The Finnish training audience comprising mainly reservists, service personnel, and conscripts from the Pori Brigade, as well as service personnel from the Kainuu Brigade and Karelia Brigade returned to Finland on Saturday 28 May. According to National Senior Officer of the Finnish training audience to the exercise Lieutenant Risto Kohonen, the jaeger company and combat engineer platoon attending the exercise verifiably sustain a capability that is internationally comparable.

Hedgehod 22 is the main annual exercise drill of the Estonian Defence Forces, the participation to which particularly supports implementing the Finnish Defence Forces’ task involving providing international assistance.  According to Lieutenant Colonel Kohonen, the exercise output well met the set aims and training objectives.
- We were able to develop troop and force capability, as well as competence in logistics support, relating to force transfers. The missions carried out by the training audience as well as the exercising conducted in cooperation with the Estonian brigade-level unit during the training phase developed the capability relevant for national tasks while also developing the capability for missions involving the providing of international military assistance.

Increasing international interoperability requires combined exercising together. As part of Hedgehog 22, the jaeger company and combat engineer platoon formed by the Pori Brigade of reservists trained for the Finnish Rapid Deployment Force (FRDF) were successfully integrated as part of the 1. Brigade’s Scouts Battalion of the Estonian Defence Forces.
- We got to cooperate in a versatile manner especially with the Estonians. In major exercise entities with a high number of operators at the tactical level and a more extensive situation framework informing the operating, it tends to be typical that interoperability focuses on combined-arms functions and at the company command level. Yet, this time, the excellently prepared combat enhancement and force integration training (CET/FIT) phase combined with versatile missions during the combat phase enabled learning outcomes on a number of levels of operating. Many of the lessons identified involve minor practical observations concerning differences in doing particular things. In conjunction with this, the talking and sharing of ideas will aid both us and our partners in developing our activity. We mutually benefit from this exercise participation, Lieutenant Colonel Kohonen describes.

Held in Southern Estonia, in the vicinity of Võru among others, the exercise drill was participated by a circa 240-personnel-strong Finnish training audience detachment led by the Pori Brigade. 
- It is always a pleasure and an honour to participate with a Finnish reservist force in exercise drills like Hedgehog 22. Our troops’ strong motivation and high level of competence were well highlighted while engaged in exercising, and the operational force received earned complements from the Estonian OCE. I know for sure that, following this exercise, our force will be increasingly ready and capable, Lieutenant Colonel Kohonen says with appreciation.

For exercise drilling highlights, see the homepage of the exercise or this video.