Nordic Battle Group

Nordic Battlegroup
Coat of arms
Active	2008-present
Country	Sweden  Finland  Norway  Estonia  Ireland
Allegiance	European Union
Branch	EU Battlegroups
Role	Multi (Sea, Air and Land)
Size	2200
Part of	Swedish Armed Forces
Garrison/HQ	Enköping, Sweden
Motto	Ad omnia paratus ("Prepared for anything")
Colors	Blue, silver and gold
Commanders
Current commander	Brig-Gen Stefan Andersson

The Nordic Battlegroup (NBG) is one of eighteen European Union battlegroups. It consists of around 2,200 soldiers including officers, with manpower contributed from the five participating countries (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland and Estonia). The military strategic command of the force is done in cooperation with the any suitable of the five Operation Headquarters framework nations at the time for deployment.^[1] Denmark has opted out of the Common Foreign and Security Policy pillar of the EU, hence all battlegroups. Norway has negotiated an opt-in to participate, even though it is not an EU member state.

NBG 2008

The unit was ready for operations between January 2008 and June 2008.

NBG 2011

The Nordic Battle Group 2011 is now active. In January 2009 a core of staff officers commenced planning for the alert period, which in the NBG 2011 is between January 1 and June 30, 2011. On the 31st of August 2009 the "Key Nucleus" of the Force Headquarters arrived in Enköping in order to establish a functional staff. During autumn 2009 the main focus has been education and internal processes. Spring 2010 was used for planning, case study and exercise Combined Joint Staff Exercise CJSE 10. Autumn 2010 is an intense exercise period with Illuminated Summer 10, Initial Effort 10 and Joint Action 10. 1 January the Nordic Battlegroup is on standby to be deployed within 10 days. All personnel shall be at their operating bases within 48 hours after the decision to launch an operation is taken.

Order of battle

  Participating countries

The unit uses a modular organisation with a mechanised infantry battalion at its core (During NBG 2008 it was the 41. Rapid Reaction Battalion, During NBG 2011 it is the 192. Core Battalion, Norrbottens regemente (armoured)), which has been organised around Norrbottens regemente (I19). During 2011 a framework exists for the integration of additional resources. These resources range from artillery, air defence, and intelligence to additional logistical support. Additional support in the form of air, naval and special forces assets will be allocated based on the operational tasks the unit is expected to perform.^[2]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Battlegroup depicts a heraldic lion holding a sword and an olive branch. The lion is a national symbol of many former and present European kingdoms and the sword and the branch signifies the ambition to impose peace - with or without the use of violence.

In 2007 the commander ruled that the lion's penis had to be removed. Since civilian women are often sexually abused in the war zones of the world, they did not consider the depiction of a penis appropriate on a uniform worn into battle. However, this decision has been questioned by some Swedish heraldists, including heraldic artist Vladimir Sagerlund, who has asserted that coats of arms containing lions without a penis were historically given to those who had betrayed the Swedish Crown.^[3]

Force

The Nordic Battlegroup consists of around 2,200 officers and soldiers:^[4]

• Sweden: 1600
• Finland: 250
• Ireland: 150
• Estonia: 100
• Norway: 100
• Croatia: U/K (Only NBG11)

Equipment

Vehicles

• Mowag Piranha (Armoured Personnel carrier) Ireland
• Bandvagn 309 (Personnel carrier 309) Sweden
• RG 32 Galten (High Mobility Wheeled Vehicle) Sweden
• XA-203 SISU (Armoured Personnel carrier) Sweden
• Mercedes-Benz G-Class (Softskin jeep) Sweden, Finland
• XA-180 (Armoured Personnel carrier) Sweden, Finland
• Strf 9040 / CV90 (Infantery Fightning Vehicle) Sweden (Only NBG08)

Helicopters

• AgustaWestland AW109 (HKP 15)
• Mil Mi-17

Aircraft

• JAS 39 Gripen - (Fighter aircraft)
• C-130 Hercules - (Military transport aircraft)

Small arms

• Ak 5 - assault rifle
• Rk 95 TP - assault rifle
• Steyr AUG - assault rifle
• HK416 - assault rifle
• Psg 90 - sniper rifle
• Ksp 58 - general purpose machine gun
• Ksp 90 - light machine gun (SAW)
• Bofors AT4 - light anti-tank weapon
• Carl Gustav - recoilless rifle
• Glock 17 - Pistol

2010 Evaluation by the Swedish National Audit Office

On October 29, 2010 the findings of an official audit by the Swedish National Audit Office was published which concluded with fundamental weaknesses in the organization's logistics capabilities, internal cooperation and personnel supply. According to the National Auditor, Jan Landahl, the Nordic Battle Group also suffered from inadequate control over expenditures and reporting from the Swedish cabinet to the parliament was also unsatisfactory. The audit office's report found that twice as many Swedish soldiers were assigned to the Battle Group compared to what the 2004 mandate had assigned, and the costs to the Swedish government was in the multiples of what the parliament had been told.^[5]

References

1. ^ "Inauguration of the Nordic Battle Group Headquarters". Försvarsmakten. 2006-05-29. Archived from the original on 2006-08-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20060824044530/http://www.mil.se/index.php?lang=E&c=news&id=32771. Retrieved 2006-08-26. 
2. ^ "I FOKUS 2004: Fortsatt reformering av försvaret" (in Swedish). Försvarsmakten. 2004. http://www.mil.se/attachments/ifokus04_nr1.pdf. Retrieved 2006-08-26. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Heraldists want penis reinstated on military badge
4. ^ "Nordic Battlegroup". http://www2.mil.se/en/About-the-Armed-Forces/Organisation/Units-on-standby2/Nordic-Battle-Group/. Retrieved 2008-02-14. 
5. ^ Düsing, Pär (October 30, 2010). "Stridsgruppen blev för dyr" (in Swedish). Göteborgs-Posten. http://www.gp.se/ekonomi/1.480617-stridsgruppen-blev-for-dyr. Retrieved October 30, 2010. 

External links

• Inauguration of the Nordic Battle Group Headquarters HQ NBG
• (Swedish) Nordic Battlegroup - svenskledd styrka till EU:s snabbinsatsförmåga (NBG - Swedish led force for EU rapid deployment capability)
• (Swedish) Karl Engelbrektson blir chef för Nordic Battlegroup (Karl Engelbrektson becomes chief of Nordic Battlegroup)
• (Swedish) EU:s insatsstyrka bäddar för svensk yrkesarmé (EU deployment force enables possibility for Swedish professional army)
• Swedish Nordic Battlegroup recruitment video
• News article on death of NBG member during exercise, TheLocal.se
• One for all, all for one? New Nordic Defence Partnership? Publication from the Nordic Council of Ministers. Free download.