Nordic Battlegroup
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
). 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.
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
has opted out of the Common Foreign and Security Policy
Common Foreign and Security Policy
The Common Foreign and Security Policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas...
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 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
Skaraborgs regemente (armoured)
Skaraborgs regemente , designation P 4, is a Swedish Army armoured regiment that traces its origins back to the 16th century. It was converted from an infantry regiment in 1942...
, During NBG 2011 it is the 192. Core Battalion, Norrbottens regemente (armoured)), which has been organised around Norrbottens regemente
Norrbottens regemente
Norrbottens regemente , designation I 19, is a Swedish Army arctic armoured, light infantry and ranger regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from the province of Norrbotten, and it is currently garrisoned in Boden, Norrbotten...
(I19). During 2011 a framework exists for the integration of additional resources. These resources range from artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, air defence, and intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
to additional logistical support. Additional support in the form of air, naval and special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
assets will be allocated based on the operational tasks the unit is expected to perform.
Coat of arms
The coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
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.
Force
The Nordic Battlegroup consists of around 2,200 officers and soldiers:- SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
: 1600 - FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
: 250 - IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
: 150 - EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
: 100 - NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
: 100 - CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
: U/K (Only NBG11)
Vehicles
- Mowag PiranhaMowag PiranhaThe MOWAG Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss MOWAG , corporation....
(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-ClassMercedes-Benz G-ClassThe original 460-series Geländewagen went on sale for civilian buyers in 1979, after having debuted in February of that year. It was offered with two wheelbases, a short wheelbase of 2,400 mm and a long one of 2,850 mm. One could choose between three body styles: A two-door short...
(Softskin jeep) Sweden, Finland - XA-180 (Armoured Personnel carrier) Sweden, Finland
- Strf 9040 / CV90 (Infantery Fightning Vehicle) Sweden (Only NBG08)
Aircraft
- JAS 39 GripenJAS 39 GripenThe Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a lightweight single-engine multirole fighter manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen in the Swedish Air Force...
- (Fighter aircraftFighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
) - C-130 HerculesC-130 HerculesThe Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
- (Military transport aircraftMilitary transport aircraftMilitary transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in...
)
Small arms
- Ak 5Ak 5The Ak 5 is the Swedish version of the FN FNC assault rifle with certain modifications, mostly to adapt the weapon to the Swedish climate. The Ak 5 is the service rifle of the Swedish Armed Forces. Ak 5 is an abbreviation of automatkarbin 5...
- assault rifle - Rk 95 TPRk 95 TPThe Rk 95 Tp is a 7.62 mm Finnish assault rifle adopted by the Finnish Defence Forces in the 1990s in relatively small numbers.-History:...
- assault rifle - Steyr AUGSteyr AUGThe AUG is an Austrian bullpup 5.56mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1970s by Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & Co KG . The AUG was adopted by the Austrian Army as the StG 77 in 1977, where it replaced the 7.62mm StG 58 automatic rifle...
- assault rifle - HK416 - assault rifle
- Psg 90 - sniper rifle
- Ksp 58 - general purpose machine gun
- Ksp 90 - light machine gun (SAW)
- Bofors AT4AT4The AT4 is an 84-mm unguided, portable, single-shot recoilless smoothbore weapon built in Sweden by Saab Bofors Dynamics...
- light anti-tank weapon - Carl GustavCarl Gustav recoilless rifleThe Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84 mm man-portable reusable multi-role recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden...
- 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 OfficeSwedish National Audit Office
The Swedish National Audit Office audits the activities of the Swedish government. All government agencies are required to submit copies of their annual accounts and reports to this office for review....
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
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
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.
External links
- Inauguration of the Nordic Battle Group Headquarters HQ NBG Nordic Battlegroup - svenskledd styrka till EU:s snabbinsatsförmåga (NBG - Swedish led force for EU rapid deployment capability) Karl Engelbrektson blir chef för Nordic Battlegroup (Karl Engelbrektson becomes chief of Nordic Battlegroup) 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.