The headquarters of NATO's advanced ground forces will be located in Rovaniemi in Finland's northern Lapland region. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense of Finland. Defense Minister Antti Hakanen clarified that in peacetime its number will be approximately the same as the headquarters of the alliance's Scandinavian ground forces, which opened on October 3 in Mikkeli, which is located 300 km from St. Petersburg. It is expected that in peacetime the number of personnel will be 50 people.
The move aims to "strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense elements in the High North and the Arctic region" and "create better interoperability," Hakanen said. The headquarters of the NATO ground forces in Mikkeli started functioning on September 1. It is located less than 200 km from the Russian border.
In peacetime, the headquarters plans and implements NATO training activities in the region. The so-called high readiness headquarters in Mikkeli operates around the clock and reports to the headquarters in Norfolk on the east coast of the United States.
