Mental health issues are among the most common reasons for interrupting military service

The proportion of conscripts interrupting their service seems not to have changed significantly. The most common reason for interruption of service is still fitness for service categorisation to category E. Military service is interrupted especially due to mental health issues and challenges related to adjustment.

Of the conscripts in January 2025 contingent (1/25), 16.1% interrupted their service after the training phases which is exactly the same percentage as the previous year. In most cases, the service was interrupted due to category E fitness for service. With the January contingent, category E was the reason for interruption for 9.8% of all conscripts, which is slightly higher (0.6%) than with the January contingent in the previous year.

The total percentage of conscripts dropping out in July contingents has reduced, if we look at the long-term development. The total share of conscripts dropping out in July 2024 contingent was 14.9%, which is the lowest figure since 2017. This year, the most common reason for interruptions in the July contingent was category E fitness for service, which was determined for 4.8% of the conscripts by the end of the basic training phase. 2.3% interrupted their service due to their wish to do non-military service instead, and 1.6% due to being categorised to category C fitness for service.

Mental health issues and challenges in adjustment more acute than ever

A person categorised to category E fitness for service has an illness, an injury, a defect or a physical debility which makes them unfit for service for a period of 1-3 years. In the past few years, the number of conscripts in category E has been growing. According to Major Jyrki Kalliola from the Defence Command Training Division, problems related to mental health, coping, well-being and adjustment as well as substance use are more acute than ever:

- The fact that young people have more mental health issues than before is apparent also in the military service. Adjustment to a new daily routine and group work may also be challenging.

Major Kalliola says that the Defence Forces is monitoring the situation, taking action on the basis of observations made about the interruptions:

- We are following the situation and the reasons for interruption closely. This helps us see trends and improve service conditions. Most interruptions take place during the first two weeks of service, and we are taking various measures to facilitate recruits' adjustment to their new environment. These include specific attention to appropriate treatment of conscripts and to conscript leaders' leadership skills. One example of practical measures is the peer support activity, which was piloted in the Air Force Academy and Kainuu Brigade, and the related peer support training. The peer support from conscripts specifically trained for the task is an easily accessible form of support, and an addition to the professional help provided by social welfare officers, military chaplains and health care personnel.

This matter cannot, however, be dealt with by the Defence Forces alone.

- We are constantly working on new ways to support and improve our conscripts' well-being. However, the interruptions reflect societal phenomena that extend beyond the Defence Forces, such as polarisation of the population's abilities, increasing differentiation of values, and individualism, which can be solved only by cooperation of different societal actors, Major Kalliola says.