People shook their heads at what the Finns were doing. Now the tone is different.

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303 days. Sergeant Tian Pelto does not hesitate when asked how long he has been here. In a month, the first service will be over.

Exercises in rainy weather. Guards in minus 20 degrees. Crawling in the mud. Two, three days without sleep.

But the worst has really been the best, thinks fellow soldier Santeri Heikkinen.

It has created community. The toil they have been through together, which they can talk about afterwards. Like most boys and men they know. And some women.

The soldiers we meet deep in the Finnish forests have been an important part of national self-confidence. Now something has changed.