The Soldiers’ Home Association

Activities of the Soldiers’ Home Association

The Soldiers’ Home Association – founded in 1921 –  is an umbrella organization for the local home associations. Its purpose is to support the operating conditions of local soldiers’ home associations nationwide and thereby ensure that every conscript and woman in voluntary military service receives basic soldiers’ home services regardless of their place of service. The Soldiers’ Home Association promotes its members’ preparedness to cope in emergency conditions and participates in improving citizens’ crisis preparedness skills. We train the members in activities that are in accordance with required duties.

The duties of the Soldiers’ Home Association include:

• negotiating and maintaining connections with the Ministry of Defense, the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish Border Guard, and voluntary national defense organizations
• negotiating and signing cooperation agreements with the Defence Forces and the Border Guard
  organizing training
• producing brochures and other necessary materials
• procuring organizational products
• publishing a magazine called “Sotilaskoti” for members
• monitoring the finances of soldiers’ homes
• providing guidelines for operations
• awarding scholarships to conscripts completing their service and students in military schools
• managing the association’s contracts through competitive bidding
• handling international cooperation.

The highest decision-making power of the Soldiers’ Home Association is vested in the spring and autumn meetings. In these meetings, the official representatives of the local soldiers’ home associations have the right to vote.

The Soldiers’ Home Association has tree employees.