Soldier swaps North East for Finnish adventure

A County Durham soldier is swapping the North East for the frozen wilder- ness of Finland as he takes on a challenging winter training exercise with the Finnish Army.

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Corporal Chris Rowland, 35, has joined Finland's Kainuu Brigade for Exercise Northern Axe, one of the first major training missions since Finland officially became a NATO member in 2023.

The exercise, held in the snow-covered Vuosanka training area just 30 miles from the Russian border, is testing Chris and his comrades from three Rifles C-Company to their limits. Alongside 3,000 personnel, Chris is honing his skills in live firing attacks, defensive tactics, and Arctic survival, all while enduring temperatures that can drop as low as -40 degrees C.