I'm a Finnish man completing my military service as a Social-media agent of the Finnish Defence Forces, AMA!

Do members of the Finnish army ever say, "FINISH HIM!", in a deep Mortal Kombat voice, as a kind of finishing move, or are you guys just some regular-ass first-world soldiers who say something lame like "tango down"?

It's sadly not funny for us, but maybe some foreign privates that we always have could go with the Mortal Kombat theme. Mostly going with the lame-ass easily-recognizable commands, as you do in the army!

As someone who is not actively involved in combat, how are you treated by your peers? Do people think less of you because you don't (I'm assuming) fight in the army or is there a respect there that you are fulfilling a job that needs to be done?

It's mostly the colleques in the army who tease me about it. My peers are proud and happy that I'm doing something that is generally tough to achieve.

Hello,

Thank you for offering this IAMA.

What sort of advice do you give your incoming military personnel about social media use? Are there "do's and don'ts" about what can be shared? Is use of social media monitored for information which can damage operational security?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Yeah they do! It's tough to really monitor the use of social media, especially in the large finnish forests - Who's there to deny you taking a selfie or posting on Facebook? There are many lessons and campaigns advising against acceptable use of social medias while in service.

What is your standpoint on memes as whole?

I actually did my Finnish language graduation exam about this; in short, they're todays comics, poems and anectodes. An excellent and witty way of showing points about life in general. You can give critique through them, admire things or people through them and be funny about it!

Are the Finnish army involved in any conflicts right now? What are the biggest threats to your national security?

As the President of Finland J.K. Paasikivi once said, Finland has three main challenges in its defence politics. Russia, Russia and Russia. The army as a whole is not involved in conflicts, though Finnish peacekeepers are scattered in various parts in the world - Afganistan, Libanon, Somalia, Kosovo for example.

Are black licorice pipes banned or considerd illegal in Finland?

Nope and no, they just changed the name and it's all good!

Do you think the national service should be expanded to include women?

I think the current system is viable - If you want to join the army as a woman you can. It's really a tough and culturally way too broad of a question if Finland could a) expand army to all people or b) make army not mandatory anymore. It's in our blood at this point. Everything about army screams of traditions; when you have to kiss goodbye every Sunday and your dear girlfriend of wife stays in home. When you have to stay in the army for some weekends and you have those long Saturday-night calls with her. I see Finland's nation having tough time trying to change something this big!

Is it true that Hydraulic Press guy is now a Finnish hero?

Others cringe because he talks like your dad when you go to Spain for holiday, other glorify him :P

Hmm I moved to Finland after I was thirty and got my citizenship then (parents are Finnish) and I don't need to do the service. I think 30 years is the cut off, not 60. Are you sure about that?

Yeah with that I meant that you can be called to reserve training until the age of 60. If you haven't done your initial service before the age of 30, the army gives up on you and you don't have to go! Sorry about that :P

I think each country should have a strong army and not depend on any other country when dangers loom in the horizon. We are in the 21st century and you can see what happens in all these week countries around the world. But based on my experience from my country Lebanon that has been through a lot of wars with Israel before and still and with terrorists, I think that having these reserves is a crucial thing and more importantly these reserves should be trained on performing some guerrilla warfare and not only the usual army training. During wars and with vast landscapes being invaded by any army is possible, but this army gets to stay and survive in the attacked country is a different thing. Do you have any guerrilla training in your army, or is it not relevant?

Yeah we do, though we don't know much about them. Also Finnish Defence Forces have recently started something called "Valmiusjoukot". They are forces that are ready to be deployed at great speed if needed. They serve for 12 months, and are way more active in the reserves aswell. They are taught about all brances of military service, including guerrilla tactics and fighting in cities. They have made a showreel video here

Was social media something that you had an interest in to begin with? I mean did you have an ongoing personal twitter, instagram etc that made you suitable for the position? Did you actively pursue the job or was it something that was assigned to you for other reasons?

Also it bothers me that you used the word 'completing' instead of 'finishing'

I'm not famous in any social medias, but I have a good understanding about all the available channels of social media and I work well with other people. I applied and got chosen, amongst some 30 other people who applied. I'm sorry about that, English is not my first language and so on :P

Hi, do you like Apulanta ?

Not my ultimate favourite but it plays on my Spotify from time to time yeah!

Opinions on us civilian service scrubs?

Definately a good choice, and can see motivations and good points about it.