Finns on their way home from Saber Strike 18: Our product is operational

On Wednesday 13 June 2018, the main force of the Finnish training exercise detachment returns from the exercise Saber Strike 18, whereas two staff officers will continue as part of the training exercise until 15 June. According to the Senior National Officer of the exercise detachment, Captain Timo Leppänen, the capability of the combat engineer platoon that partook in the training exercise has been verified to be internationally compatible.

Participating in the exercise Saber Strike 18 has supported implementing the Finnish Defence Forces’ task relating to providing and receiving international assistance. This task presupposes increasing international interoperability by means of undertaking training. In the exercise Saber Strike 18, the combat engineering platoon of the Karelia Brigade’s readiness unit was successfully integrated as part of the Estonian Scouts Battalion.

– Combined coordinating of the Finnish platoon and the Estonian battalion was carried out well. The combat engineers have been able to train supporting the combat of a mechanised troop, and the set combat missions have included, among others, safeguarding crossing over as well as conducting minefield clearance and counter-mobility measures. The combat engineers have also demonstrated solid and compatible competence by instructing the professional soldiers of the Scouts Battalion in conducting prompt counter-mobility measures.

Overall, the participation in this training exercise has verified that the Finnish tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) are operational and stand the validation test of international compatibility.

– The multinational training exercise troop has observed that our combat engineering platoon is capable and well commanded, in other words, our product is operational, Captain Leppänen emphasises.

This training exercise has provided the Finnish detachment with versatile experiences that will be utilised while planning for and executing national training exercises. The Finns have also accrued observations that aid in fine-tuning and further developing own equipment and combat-related procedures.

– Participating in this training exercise has also resulted in development of commanding on all organisational levels of the chain of command from the section leaders to the detachment’s senior national officer, Captain Leppänen points out.

Revisit the training exercise by accessing the exercise site online, or take a look at the video clips available enclosed below.