Finnish soldiers return from Afghanistan

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A large military transport plane brought a group of 71 Finnish crisis management soldiers to Tampere-Pirkkala Airport early Wednesday evening. The group looked tanned and were clearly pleased as they marched off the plane. They had spent four months in Afghanistan where they were sent to help provide security for the elections that were held in August.
      Thirteen others stayed behind in Afghanistan to dismantle their camp in Mazar-i-Sharif.
      The communications problems within the Finnish leadership, which led to confusion about whether or not the soldiers would be coming back now, or after the second round of Presidential elections next month, was not a major issue for the men in Afghanistan.
      “The work there required so much concentration that we didn’t much follow Finnish affairs”, said sharpshooter Juri Lönn.
     
The soldiers say that in principle, they would not have had anything against staying there longer.
      “In the short term it would have been difficult. I would have had to reschedule holiday trips, and so on”, said medic Martti Nikunoja.
      Ali Mättölä, the commander of the group, says that the possibility of an extension was discussed, but very quickly they decided to go with the original plan.
     
Once in Afghanistan, some of the young peacekeepers soon faced hostile action. Juha Mäkinen said that his group was involved in a firefight. He did not say if anyone among those who returned to Finland on Wednesday had fired shots in anger.
      The toughest day was the third of October, when four Finns were injured by a roadside bomb.
      “It was really a rough day. We tried our best to handle the situation”, Mättölä said.
      The men said that they were not left with any traumas, but Nikunoja says that the experience was the most severe so far.
      “You can’t prepare yourself for the situations. You can’t process them in your mind before you’re there.”
     
The soldiers nevertheless knew what they were getting into. “The training gave the right impression of the fighting”, Mäkinen said.
      They also said that they would be willing to take on similar tasks in the future as well.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Government ponders Afghanistan confusion (28.10.2009)
  Foreign Minister Stubb apologises to Finnish peacekeepers (26.10.2009)
  Additional Finnish forces to be withdrawn from Afghanistan before election runoff (21.10.2009)

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