Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the Cadet Promotion and Appointment Ceremony 20 April, 2007

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I congratulate you on successfully completing your officer training. I hereby promote you to the rank of Senior Lieutenant and appoint you to positions in the Defence Forces and the Frontier Guard.

It is the duty of our Defence Forces to safeguard Finland’s territorial integrity and to defend our independence in all circumstances.

We conduct an appropriate foreign policy, we ensure that our society functions properly and we maintain a credible military defence to prevent crises developing.

* * *

Your basic training is now behind you. In front of you is the practical application of your studies. I want to remind you of a few key principles in your work for the good of your country.

Service security is of primary importance in peace-time operations and in working with conscripts. Security issues must always be borne in mind. Training does not prepare you for every possible situation, so that vigilance and initiative are always necessary.

Self development must be a matter of course for an officer. Targets for maintaining your own physical condition and for intellectual advancement must be set at a high level. Skill levels increase only with training, on land and sea, and in the air.

New methods and modes of operation are most successful when quality is the paramount consideration in your own work. Development work and the introduction of new equipment are tasks that are often left to the young – indeed it is the work of a moment for them to become authorities on such matters.

For many of you, your next job will be training conscripts. This is an extremely demanding task that has important repercussions well into the future. From one point of view it is a rewarding job as you will be mixing with keen young people. With general conscription you will be training the future hopes of Finnish society. This training has to be logical, demanding and practical. Always be a good example to these young men and women.

* * *

Taking part in international crisis management is an everyday task for our Defence Forces and with it international activities have become part of an officer’s everyday life.

The officers who take part in international crisis management are volunteers, so that applying for international tasks is something you do at your own risk. There will be plenty of tough international posts to be filled in the years to come, since Finland has given a long-term commitment to contributing to the European Union rapid reaction forces.

However, international crisis management is not an adventure. It is serious and sometimes extremely dangerous work in critical situations. The experience gained from such work provides a substantial reservoir of strength for an officer for the years of service ahead.

International crisis management, both military and civilian, is needed more and more in different parts of the world. The reasons for the crises are complex and crisis management has to respond to the demands made by ever more complex crises. More and more frequently, civilian and military operations are needed at the same time. Finland has been a pioneer in this regard. We are able -- and we deem it important – to combine military security and civilian operations aimed at rebuilding communities.

At this very moment, Finnish peacekeepers are in a high state of readiness in the rapid reaction forces of the European Union. Along with Germany and the Netherlands, Finland is part of the EU’s first rapid reaction battle group. The formation of rapid reaction crisis-management troops has evolved from the need to respond to international crises with sufficient speed.

It seems to me to be of great importance that cooperation between the European Union and NATO on developing rapid reaction crisis management is effectively seamless. We have no practical experience on using rapid reaction abilities in crisis management, so it is vital that we share the knowledge we do have among the organisations involved and improve our readiness in a spirit of sound cooperation, avoiding overlaps and misunderstandings

Principal and staff of the National Defence College!

I want to thank you for the work you have carried out with such credit. It is thanks to you that officer training in Finland is the highest level by international standards. In your training and leadership activities you have provided these junior officers with a sound basis for success in a demanding profession.

Officers!

I wish you all every success in your duties.