I Served in a Foreign Military, and It Was Perfectly Legal

As my family swore an oath to pledge allegiance to the United States, a year later I was swearing allegiance to the Republic of Finland.

I moved to the United States when I was nine years old. I did not speak a word of English, had never eaten bacon, and did not understand why the cashier at the supermarket asked me how I was doing as she scanned my groceries. I was homesick and wanted to return to my birthplace of Finland, which I still considered to be my real home.

Fast forward to my teenage years, the American experience had grown on me, and I had begun to believe that living in the United States was a gift, one that many young people my age could only dream about. Before graduating high school, I turned in my green card and proudly accepted my newly-minted American citizenship certificate. It was the proudest day of my life.

As circumstances would have it, I had the right to maintain my Finnish citizenship. As someone with a deep respect for the nation of 5.5 million people, which has staunchly defended its independence against Russian aggression for generations, I reckoned that relinquishing my citizenship would only be an insult to my forebears. Even today, as an American citizen, I deeply value my native land and the freedom and opportunities it provided my family.

Finland remains one of the few countries left in the West that has a mandatory military service requirement for young men. Considering that the nation shares the longest border with Russia in Europe, this policy still remains popular among the fiercely nationalist electorate.