Training for the new recruits is taking place at the Pori brigade in Säkyla, western Finland.

Finland plans to diversify its operations in Afghanistan and take up mentoring, teaching locals medical skills and construction. The troops will head to Afghanistan about two weeks from now.

On a visit to Mazar-i-Sharif earlier this summer, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb predicted that conditions in Afghanistan would become more difficult for Finnish crisis management forces this year. He also said he expected a sharp increase in the costs of crisis management operations.

The Finns are part of the NATO-led ISAF operation in the north of Afghanistan involving a total of 5,000 soldiers from various countries.