Founded 1918-02-02 Part of Chief of Defence | Country Finland | |
Size ca. 200 military, ca. 200 civilian employees Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Juha Rannikko | ||
The Finnish Defence Command (Finnish: Pääesikunta, Swedish: Huvudstaben) is the headquarters of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its duty is to care for the maintenance, planning and preparedness of the military defence of the realm.
Organisation
The Defence Command is subordinate to the Chief of Defence who is the day-to-day commander of the Defence Forces. It is headed by the chief of staff, usually a lieutenant general. The three services of the Defence Forces and the Finnish National Defence University are not under the immediate command of the Defence Command but directly subordinate to the Chief of Defence. On the other hand, there are a number of military establishments that are directly subordinated to the Defence Command.
The Defence Command is divided into divisions (Finnish: osasto), each headed by a chief of division. Some of these are grouped under deputy chiefs of staff responsible for a number of sections.
The sections are
The Defence Command is part of the Garrison of Helsinki, and it is supported in many aspects by other military units located in the area, the most visible of which is the Guard Jaeger Regiment. The conscripts who are serving in Defence Command as e.g. as journalists for the Defence Forces Ruotuväki magazine or as lawyer officer candidates in the legal division are administratively members of the regiment.