Supreme Allied Commander Europe, SACEUR, General Alexus G. Grynkewich, visited Finland on 8 – 9 January 2026. This was General Grynkewich’s first planned working visit to Finland. The visit was hosted by the Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Janne Jaakkola.
The program of the visit included discussion of current issues, particularly from the perspective of Finland’s NATO integration, as well as a visit to the Southeast Finland Border Guard.
“Finland’s integration into NATO has progressed rapidly, and we have a clear direction ahead of us. The transferring of Finland, along with Sweden and Denmark, to Joint Force Command Norfolk’s area of responsibility, and the Northern Multi Corps Land Component and Forward Land Forces becoming operational are good examples of this progress. The Alliance is strongly present in the area by participating in joint exercises, contributing to situation awareness sharing and planning cooperation. Finland’s national defence capability and comprehensive security ensure a strong foundation for the development of deterrence and collective defence”, General Jaakkola said summing up the discussions.
“My visit to Finland, including its border, gave me a better understanding of why time, space, and forces matter to the country and its defence forces, and why the High North and the Arctic matter, said U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “They matter to me too.”
He added, “And the Finish Defence Forces and Finnish Border Guards are strong forces, and an integral part of the nation’s comprehensive security and NATO’s deterrence and defence plans. It was an honour to visit with them the last two days and to see their ‘sisu’.”
Supreme Allied Commander Europe commands NATO military operations and serves as the commander of Allied Command Operations, ACO. Allied Command Operations is responsible for the planning and execution of NATO’s operations. Allied Command Operations is one of NATO’s two strategic commands. The Commander of Allied Command Transformation, ACO visited Finland in December.
