PAHKAJÄRVI, Finland –
A team of Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team competed in the HÄYHÄ Finnish Sniper Competition Sept. 5 - 7, 2025, in Pahkajärvi, Finland.
The snipers’ participation in the competition was in support of the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, in which Virginia and Finland have been formal partners since 2024.
The HÄYHÄ competition is named for legendary World War II Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä. The international event, hosted by organizations including the Finnish Sniper Guild and the National Defense Training Association, consists of multiple days of different shooting and soldiering challenges specifically designed for snipers.
“The 25 HÄYHÄ Sniper Competition proved to be a challenging but rewarding opportunity for the 1-116th sniper section,” said Staff Sgt. Alex Miller. “Our team was able to excel in most areas of the competition, both in tactics and field craft.”
The Virginia team ultimately placed 11th out of 16 teams in the competition, lower than the team hoped, but the results did not take away from the positive experience competing in the prestigious competition.
“The competition proved to be difficult due to a few things such as the language barrier and the difference in tactics between the two militaries,” said Miller. “Although the overall outcome was not what we expected, we were still able to lean, Improve and establish new standard operating procedures for the sniper section going forward.”
A Virginia team has participated in the HÄYHÄ competition for the last three years, dating back to before the partnership was formalized in 2024.
The SPP agreement between the VNG and Finnish Defense Forces builds on several decades of friendship and partnership between the two organizations. Finnish troops served alongside the Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division during the Stabilization 10 rotation in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2001-2002, and VNG personnel have trained side-by-side with their Finnish counterparts on numerous occasions over the years.
Read more about the VNG’s partnership with Finland at https://vngpao.info/yckwa597.