Finnish EU rapid response forces stage exercise in riot control

High praise from Swedish general

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"I am ready to go with you to wherever in the world we may be ordered", said Swedish Brigadier-General Karl Engelbrektson to the Finnish soldiers under his command after observing a fast-paced and intense display of riot control skills.
      The Finnish members of the European Union's rapid response forces had just staged an exercise to stop an assault on a "police station" by angry villagers. According to the scenario, the villagers demanded the removal of the police chief of another village. The scene could have been directly out of today's Kosovo.
     
The show took place at Yläne, at an exercise field of the Pori Brigade of the Finnish Defence Forces.
      Playing the role of villagers were Finnish conscripts, who attacked the soldiers, who were in full riot gear. Clubs were taken out during the struggle, and the rioters were sprayed with water.
      The defenders, protecting themselves with riot shields, pushed the demonstrators into two different groups to subdue them. The leaders of the demonstration were detained.
      The team had two Pasi armoured personnel carriers with them. The Pasis were armed with machine guns, but the aim in such a situation is to calm the situation down by using as little force as possible.
     
Brigadier General Engelbrektson is impressed by the performance. "You are a self-confident, well-trained group. You have the right equipment, and a good spirit."
      Engelbrektson says that the battle group might be sent to help the EU's 3,700 soldiers in Chad, if they find themselves in a difficult situation. There forces in Chad already have 200 Swedish, and 60 Finnish soldiers.
      After the exercise, the commander of the EU battle group that is currently on call asked if any of the soldiers had ever experienced the real thing. Undersergeant Janne Kankkunen, 29, says that he has.
      As a peacekeeper in 2004 he helped protect a Serb village in Kosovo against the rage of ethnic Albanians. The tense situation lasted for 20 hours.
      "It was similar to this exercise, only there was a huge group of demonstrators", Kankkunen says.
      "And you undoubtedly saved many lives by preventing a clash of the two groups", Engelbrektson says.
      Engelbrektson admits that the command of a battle group comprising over 2,820 soldiers from five countries is a challenging task, but as the training involves the same NATO standard, the group functions well together.
      The Nordic battle group includes forces from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, and Ireland. The Finnish contingent numbers 221. In the rotation, the Nordic battle group is on call for the first half of this year.
      The Swedish general is quite familiar with Finnish sisu, as he has a Finnish wife.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  EU rapid response forces yearn for real missions (5.2.2008)

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