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In the course of their colourful history, military bands have performed in compositions as large as 250 musicians and taken numerous trips to perform abroad.

Music and Experiences Across Finland This summer, the Finnish Defence Forces' MILjazz tour offers an even more diverse music program! The tour, which kicks off on May 29 in Seinäjoki, will bring the bands to nine different locations. The tour will...

Military bandsmen The Conscript Band of the Defence Forces offers musically talented conscripts a chance to complete their military service in a military band. Performing in events requiring distinguished performance in Finland and abroad, the Con...

LAPLAND MILITARY BAND Premiere Finnish military music! The Lapland Military Band located in Rovaniemi is the only professional wind orchestra in Northern Finland, with 29 musicians in the ensemble. The chief conductor for the northernmost Military...

How to Become a Military Musician? The military bands recruit new players at regular intervals. The applicants must be Finnish citizens and complete the instrument proficiency test. To gain a position in a band, you must have completed the mandato...

15.7.2026 | Recruits who started their service in the Lapland Jaeger Battalion and the Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion swear the military oath or give the military affirmation in Keminmaa on Saturday, 8 August. The ceremony is held on the Keminmaa School Campus and sports field.

15.7.2026 | Recruits who started their service in the Lapland Jaeger Battalion and the Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion swear the military oath or give the military affirmation in Keminmaa on Saturday, 8 August. The ceremony is held on the Keminmaa School Campus and sports field.

The Midnight Hawks is the official aerobatic team of the Finnish Air Force. The team with its four Hawk jet trainers has proudly presented the consummate flying skills of Finnish military pilots in air shows in Finland and abroad since 1997. All Midnight Hawks pilots are qualified air combat and Hawk flight instructors at the Air Force Academy, rehearsing aerobatics on top of their teaching responsibilities.

The Air Force Academy is the sole Air Force unit with a primary educational and training role, and in that capacity it provides university-level military education. We train active duty personnel, conscripts, and reservists for a wide range of air defense specialties.

4.2.2026 | The military oath and affirmation ceremonies of contingent 1/26 will take place in Sodankylä and Rovaniemi garrisons on Saturday, 14 February 2026.

15.7.2026 | Recruits who started their service in the Lapland Jaeger Battalion and the Rovaniemi Air Defence Battalion swear the military oath or give the military affirmation in Keminmaa on Saturday, 8 August. The ceremony is held on the Keminmaa School Campus and sports field.

13.12.2022 | For the first time ever, the Defence Forces will realise a show written and directed by Samuel Harjanne and Petrus Kähkönen showcasing unparalleled military music skills. The audience will enjoy vigorous figure marching, virtuosic skills by drum sections and percussion instrument players, a fantastic rifle drill team show and versatile orchestration for brass band to string ensemble and big band music.

3.10.2025 | The third National Defence University conferment ceremony was held in Helsinki between 18 and 20 September 2025. At the conferment ceremony, 23 doctors of military sciences graduating after 2018 and 5 Honorary Doctors were conferred. Conferment grants them the right to use the doctoral hat and sword.

8.5.2025 | On Commemoration Day of Fallen Soldiers on Sunday 18 May, a national military funeral with full honours will be held in Lappeenranta for 26 unidentified Finnish soldiers recovered from former battle sites in Russia. The event will be arranged in co-operation by the Finnish Defence Forces, City of Lappeenranta, Evangelical Lutheran Parishes’ Union in Lappeenranta, and Association for Commemoration of the Fallen.

4.2.2026 | The military oath and affirmation ceremonies of contingent 1/26 will take place in Sodankylä and Rovaniemi garrisons on Saturday, 14 February 2026.

15.7.2024 | The biennial international military music event will fill the streets of Hamina with military music from 29 July to 3 August 2024. The Hamina Tattoo, which has become a tradition, is organized by the city of Hamina and the main partner is the Finnish Defence Forces. The Hamina Tattoo is one of the most important Tattoo events in the world.

Conductors Chief Conductor Major (Mus.) Ville Paakkunainen Ville Paakkunainen (born 1978) served as the chief conductor of the Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces 2017-2020. Before that, he served as the conductor of the Guards Band, the ...

MEET YOU IN THE EVENT FIELD! During the Hamina Tattoo, it is possible to familiarise with the Finnish Defence Forces’ activity in the FDF event field in front of the Reserve Officer School’s main building (Kadettikoulunkatu 7). The event field wil...

The Guards Band The Representative Orchestra of the President of the Republic, the Guards Band is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in Finland. The band was established in 1819. Nowadays the official representative band of t...

Hamina Tattoo 2026 The next Hamina Tattoo will take place from 27th of July to 1rd of August 2026. The international Hamina Tattoo is a military music festival which has already become a tradition. The historical fortress town of Hamina creates a ...