In connection with the examination, the Commanding Officer of the Göta Engineer Regiment, Ing 2, appointed four new captains in the field work specialisation who will serve as platoon commanders in the field work units’ operational organisation. The four captains are Mattias Gleisner and Martin Kretz from Ing 2, together with Rikard Daleke and Mika Mäntyranta from the Norrbotten Regiment, I 19.
One other candidate, Tomas Gresius, a guest student from Lithuania, took the examination together with the Swedish students. Tomas will, however, have to wait six months before his appointment as a captain since the Lithuanian promotion system requires a period of practical service before promotion. Tomas Gresius has undergone his basic officer training in Sweden at the Field Work School under the officer training plan YOP 2002/2004 and returned to Eksjö to complete his tactical level training here.
The training has taken about 40 weeks spread over the period from 20 August 2007 when the students began their training at the Military Academy (MHS). After 10 weeks general training at MHS, all the budding captains in the land warfare specialisation gathered at the Land Warfare Centre (MSS) in Skövde for ten weeks arena training. Finally, for about 20 weeks, the field work students have been refining their field work skills at the Field Work School. This was the last batch of students to undergo a comprehensive examination prior to appointment as captains. In the Swedish Armed Forces’ new scheme, individual training and promotion will take place on a continuous basis as dictated by operational requirements and the positions to be filled.
Nomination as “Top Student, Tactical Training Field Work 2007/2008” was awarded to Captain Rikard Daleke with the following citation:
“Rikard Dalake has approached the training with a high level of dedication and ambition. Rikard has demonstrated exceptional ability to absorb and apply both tactical and technical aspects of his training. On a personal level, Rikard has a stable personality and he combines humility with self-confidence in his attitude to all around him. Rikard is highly capable of solving problems and carrying out his tasks in a down-to-earth way.”