March 6, 2026: For Russia, one of the more alarming results of the Ukraine War was two neutral nations, Sweden and Finland, bordering Russia joining NATO. With Sweden in NATO the Baltic Sea has turned into a region controlled by a defensive alliance containing 32 nations, including the United States.

Preparations include the formation of a division sized unit to serve along the Finnish Norwegian border. The 71st Guards Motorized Rifle Division is nominally composed of about 12,000 troops organized into the following units.

The division in Pechenga is believed to include the following units.

126th Motorized Rifle Regiment.

127th motorized Rifle Regiment.

27th Separate Tank Battalion.

87th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment.

37th Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion.

53rd Separate Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion.

57th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion.

9th Separate Engineer Battalion.

43rd Separate Signal Battalion.

129th Separate Logistics Battalion.

4th Separate Medical Evacuation Battalion.

Where the Norwegian and Finnish borders meet is south of the nearby base of the Northern Fleet.

Even before Finland joined NATO during the Ukraine War, preparations were being made to deal with possible Russian aggression. Seventeen years ago Finland increased defense spending in order to keep up with inflation. Finnish lawmakers also believed that the rising cost of war material and military equipment, besides inflation, necessitated the additional funds. The measure to spend more money on the military was met with significant opposition from the usual left of center political parties. The opposition used the argument common throughout Western Europe; that Finland has no major conventional threats at the moment and the additional money could be better spent on social programs.

Still, the opposition to the move was hardly overwhelming, with 116 legislators voting for additional money against 64 voting against. At the time the Finns had no major threats, but they did have long memories. Finland is a small country with a small military. To make up for their lack of manpower, procuring sophisticated, high-tech equipment is top priority. Based on their 20th century experiences, the Finns tended to take defense a little more seriously than countries like Germany or Portugal.

The last time Finland had to fight a war was during World War II, against Russia. The Finns ultimately lost but inflicted several severe defeats on the Russians, who outnumbered them many times over. This was largely thanks to the professionalism and skill of the Finnish soldier, whereas the Russian soldiers were largely poorly trained and led conscripts.

This was the same scenario that Finland became nervous about again, knowing that all it took was the wrong president or dictator in Russia to spark a major confrontation. At the time Russia was making everyone nervous with its increasingly aggressive stance against surrounding nations. The Finns thought it was a good idea to spend a little extra cash on their armed forces.

At the time, Finland's military budget was around $3 billion. That's about 1.3 percent of the country's total GDP of $273 billion and 5.5 percent of Finland's total national budget. This was well below the 2 percent minimum of the GDP that NATO recommends its members and partners spend on their militaries.

Still, by raising their spending, Finland contributed more to the alliance and was more likely to get a favorable response to any future requests for defense aid if they were attacked. Finland was then a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, and, with their new emphasis on added security, are likely to grow a closer relationship in the future. Finland didn't show an eagerness to get full NATO membership, unlike virtually every country in Eastern Europe, but they also liked the idea of NATO having their back if the country had to fight. The failure of many European member and partner countries to spend the recommended 2 percent on defense has been one of NATO's biggest problems for years and it continues to this day, even with the new threats of terrorism.

Back then, the Finnish ground forces had about 61,000 active duty troops organized into Operational Units, but the total wartime strength of the army in the event of invasion or national emergency is 237,000, with the active duty troops being augmented by 176,000 Regional Units. Because of their small size, the active duty soldiers use the regiment, not the division or brigade, as their basic combat unit. Divisions and brigades are activated once wartime mobilization becomes necessary. These 237,000 troops, beefed up with the latest infantry weapons and heavy armor, are nothing to sneeze at, and certainly enough to give any attacker a bloody nose. The Finnish Army still uses a system of conscription but feels that it is necessary in order to keep up a formidable level of manpower on the ground.