Patria rewards the Karelia Air Command and the Artillery Brigade for exemplary achievements in conscripts exercise

"Get Moving" project to continue for another two years

A three-year project, dubbed "Get Moving" and sponsored by Patria and the Finnish Military Sport Federation, seeks to encourage conscripts to take up sport. The goal of the project is to encourage conscripts in all Finnish Defence Forces’ training units to be physically active. Two units, the Karelia Air Command and the Artillery Brigade, were recognised for their exemplary efforts in organising sports club activities in 2011.

A joint project between Patria and the Finnish Military Sport Federation, "Get Moving" aims to promote a sports-oriented lifestyle and improve the quality of young people's lives. A variety of opportunities for conscripts to participate in sport will be created within the scope of this project, by developing sport clubs in FDF training units.

“The objective of the three-year project, launched last year, is to start sports clubs in every training unit and to bring the clubs within reach of all conscripts. We also want to reward training units with well-organised sports clubs, which, we hope, will encourage them to engage their conscripts even more in physical exercise”, says Jukka Holkeri, Chief Marketing Officer at Patria.

Kettlebells for two military units

In an opening ceremony for the Finnish Defence Forces' Year of Sport and Physical Education, held on 26 January 2011, Patria awarded a set of kettlebells to the Karelia Air Command, based in Rissala, and the Artillery Brigade, based in Niinisalo, in recognition of their well-organised sport clubs.

The Karelia Air Command was rewarded for its rapid and efficient implementation of sports club activities. Before the "Get Moving" project was launched, the Karelia Air Command had no sports clubs targeted solely at conscripts; since then, in less than a year, the Command has introduced regular sports club activities tailored for its own particular requirements.

The Artillery Brigade was recognised for its exemplary organisation of sports clubs for conscripts. Sports clubs at the Brigade have been on a firm foundation for years, with the personnel actively supporting clubs' activities.

”The active role the Karelia Air Command and the Artillery Brigade have assumed in conscript sport paves the way for the development of sports club activities in other training units at a national level,” Holkeri emphasises.

Every training unit should have sports clubs

At present, only a dozen training units have sports clubs for conscripts. Some 5,000 conscripts participate annually in sports club activities. The purpose of the "Get Moving" project is to extend the Finnish Military Sport Federation's sports club activities to cover all Finnish military training units and conscripts.

Some clubs established by conscripts have been running since 1987. These clubs focus on sports that are of interest to the conscripts, and are coached by the conscripts themselves. Training sessions for sports club leaders are attended by 150 conscripts per year.  Conscripts gain valuable leadership experience from acting as sports club leaders.

Further information:

Chief Marketing Officer Jukka Holkeri, tel. +358 40 869 2008, [email protected]

Patria is an internationally operating aerospace and defence group delivering competitive solutions based on its in-house expertise and solid partnerships. Patria is owned by the state of Finland (73.2%) and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS N.V.) (26.8%).