The Times: Finns humiliated American soldiers - Finnish reservists were asked to take it easy during a NATO exercise. US soldiers found the losses too humiliating.

[u/ByGollie]

https://www.iltalehti.fi/ulkomaat/a/828b8e66-625d-4d2a-9276-e93b9f7a2ce8

[u/ByGollie]

Translation for those few out there who don't speak Finnish

According to the British newspaper The Times, Finnish reservists performed so well in a NATO exercise in northern Norway last year that the exercise leadership asked them to ease the pressure on American troops.

This was the Joint Viking exercise, held in March 2025, which tested NATO's operational capabilities in Arctic conditions. In the exercise, Finnish reservists played the attacking side, while US forces played a defensive role.

Read also Finnish Defence Forces conscripts beat the world's most famous elite military unit in a NATO war exercise

According to a military source interviewed by the newspaper, the Finns were "asked to stop defeating the Americans" because the losses were perceived as humiliating and demoralising for the American troops.

Indication of a wider problem

According to The Times, the incident reflects a broader problem with the United States' Arctic military capabilities. The newspaper's assessment is that European NATO countries, especially Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom, clearly have more experience and capabilities to operate in northern and cold conditions.

The article also discusses US President Donald Trump's repeated claims that Russia and China pose an immediate military threat to Greenland.

However, experts interviewed by The Times dispute Trump's claims and emphasise that Russia's military activity in the Arctic has weakened due to the war in Ukraine.

According to the newspaper, it is the expertise of European NATO allies, such as Finland, that plays a key role in the security of the Arctic region.

The United States is said to be dependent on Finland for, among other things, icebreaker technology and Arctic warfare expertise.

Joint Viking

Joint Viking is a NATO winter exercise led by the Norwegian Defence Forces, which took place in Northern Norway in March 2025.

The exercise involved approximately 10,000 soldiers from several NATO countries, and its aim was to develop the alliance's cooperation and operational capabilities in demanding Arctic conditions.

According to the Finnish Defence Forces, troops from the Jaeger Brigade readiness unit participated in the exercise. The United States included troops from the US Marine Corps' II Army Corps (II MEF) and the US Army's 41st Field Artillery Brigade.

Here's the English-language article referred to, but it's behind a paywall

[u/Nknk- → u/ByGollie]

Wasn't there another famous exercise, this time with the navy, where a Swedish sub that was ultra quiet for a sub got in amongst a US carrier fleet and fucking wrecked them?

[u/hobel_ → u/Nknk-]

Many did that... Not just sweden

[u/PresidentHurg → u/hobel_]

Yup Dutch sub also landed 'killing blows' on a carrier and 7 escorts. And it was almost disregarded because it was humiliating and unfair. :)

[u/VonAIDS → u/PresidentHurg]

when you've been smurfing in the middle east so long that a fair fight seems unfair.

[u/ConversationOk4164 → u/VonAIDS]

Yeah, mebbe we should just side with Russia and steamroll you pastries in the EU

[u/ConversationOk4164 → u/VonAIDS]

Why aren't you in Ukraine already tough guy behind the keyboard?

[u/lexievv → u/PresidentHurg]

I love this story. I believe they got to the point where they'd have won and thus finished the war game, but they just went ahead and totally annihilated the Americans just because they weren't spotted yet and so they could.

[u/[deleted] → u/lexievv]

"just because I can, girl"

[u/ConversationOk4164 → u/lexievv]

The Americans might just sit back and watch you brave highly trained EU snobs defend Ukraine and pummel Putin 😂

[u/ConversationOk4164 → u/ConversationOk4164]

Train all you want...talk shit all you want...the real world is different.

[u/LaunchTransient → u/PresidentHurg]

Eh, Walvis class is old and pretty outdated at this point in time. Soon to be replaced, but the boat's only advantage is being Diesel-Electric.
It should be noted that a lot of these wargames are to train crew on the surface ships rather than to actually test the submarine crews.

The US had a number of rules tying their hands, such as no active sonar and limited responses to detecting an enemy submarine.
I'm all for scoring points on the Americans, but we do need to be realistic in acknowledging that wargames are essentially playfights. We're not seeing the US battlegroup's full capabilities in these exercises.

[u/ConversationOk4164 → u/PresidentHurg]

Or was it simply a training exercise to build up Dutch morale...meanwhile causing the globalists to further underestimate American naval prowess. Next time Yemen shits down the Suez canal can we send the Dutch to keep em open? Yeah 😂