VALKEALA, Finland –
Virginia National Guard Soldiers and Airmen conducted a chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear defense exchange with Finnish forces Feb. 23 - March 7, 2026, in Finland.
The exchange was conducted in support of the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, in which Virginia and Finland have been formally paired since 2024. Soldiers and Airmen assigned to the 229th Chemical Company and the 34th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package, or CERFP, participated in the exchange.
Fifteen CRBN specialists began their two-week annual training participating in Exercise Karelian Stone 26, led by the Finnish Defense Force’s Karelian brigade. The exercise brought together more than 1,000 personnel, including local finish government and law enforcement agencies. Fort their role, VNG personnel teamed up with an explosive ordnance disposal team from Finland’s Kymi Engineer Battalion.
After Karelian Stone, the VNG personnel joined approximately 400 other participants for Exercise Kinetic Stone in Southwest Finland. Led by the Pori Brigade, this exercise was designed to train forces in local defense missions, such as securing critical targets and cooperating with local authorities. The VNG personnel worked directly with the CBRN detachment from the Satakunta Engineer and Signals Battalion, part of the Pori Brigade in Säkylä, practicing their skills in realistic scenarios at a hospital, a water treatment plant and the major port in Turku.
“Across both exercises, the 229th Chemical Company focused on their core mission set of CBRN reconnaissance, sample collection and decontamination,” said Capt. Charles M. Reinsel, commander of the 229th Chemical Company. “A key technology highlighted during the training was a versatile unmanned ground system. This robotic platform was instrumental in allowing the combined U.S. and Finnish forces to investigate and navigate potentially hazardous environments from a safe distance, showcasing the unit's advanced technical capabilities.”
Reinsel said the experience was a positive one for his Soldiers, and will benefit future exchanges between the two partners.
“The successful integration of the 229th into these complex, multi-agency exercises represents a significant step forward in the Virginia Guard's burgeoning partnership with Finland, laying a strong foundation for future combined training and operations,” Reinsel said.
The Virginia National Guard established a formal partnership with Finland in May 2024 as part of the U.S. National Guard’s State Partnership Program. The partnership was initiated to combine air operations and interoperability defense including defense against cyber threats, information and intelligence operations, combined land forces capability, military assistance and support for disaster operations, and special operations training.
Read more about the VNG’s partnership with Finland at https://vngpao.info/yckwa597.