Yorkshire soldier on learning how to survive in Arctic conditions from Finns

C Company of the Edinburgh-based 3 Rifles spent six weeks in northern and central Finland, learning survival techniques and putting their cold-weather kit through its paces.

Rifleman Aaron Hunter, 21, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said his unit had learned to operate in the cold by layering up their kit.

He said: “Up north, it was a different cold that I have never experienced myself.

“It was a case of making sure you’re keeping thick gloves on all the time and keeping moving because frostbite could hit within 10 minutes.”

He described the Finnish conscripts and reservists that have been working alongside the 3 Rifles as “very impressive”, adding: “For the time they have served, their performance is fantastic.”

The locals were experts in surviving the cold, he said, adding: “We did an ice dip while we were up north and one of the Finns remained in there for five minutes, talking to us about how it was and then all the rest of us spent 30 seconds in there.

“We were in a different state we’ve never been in before. Everyone was pretty bad at it and they’re fantastic.”

Asked about the Finns’ perception of the possibility of Russian invasion, he said: “The threat from their neighbours is a big one, it’s mainly why we are out here also.

“It’s a big talking point for the Finns and they think it’s a very high level threat that could be around the corner – who knows?”

Around 50 men from the 3 Rifles, based in Edinburgh, spent six weeks training in the Arctic north of Finland, where they honed their survival skills in temperatures as low as minus 28C.

The C Company soldiers, who have previously had hot weather training in Kenya and Morocco, learned how to cope with icy immersion in water and how to avoid frostbite, and practised fighting in the snow and shooting while skiing.

They then joined the 3,000 conscripts, reservists and regulars from the Finnish Army’s Kainuu Brigade on Operation Northern Ax, in the forests of Vuosanka, around 20 miles from Russia and 400 miles north of Helsinki.

The British reconnaissance specialists carried out operations alongside the Finns on a wide-ranging and sophisticated simulated battle which lasted for five days and nights.

The operation was designed to test their defence, delaying, night combat and attack tactics, with commanders following the troops’ movement in real time to monitor their performance.

After years of neutrality, Finland joined Nato in 2023, extending the alliance’s northern border with Russia by more than 800 miles.

War in Ukraine and what the Russian military could do next has raised concerns in Finland – which only gained independence from its neighbour in 1917 and which last fought off invaders from the east in the Winter War of 1939-40.

Finland has mandatory conscription for men who then remain as reservists until the age of 50, meaning a population of 5.5 million could raise an army of 900,000 if they came under attack.

Reservists are called up for refresher courses and conscription has popular support across different age groups.