- You can compare my role in the exercise to the real life Force Commander in Afghanistan, says Sverker Göransson.
During the scenario, the General has just arrived from an important meeting, called the Eight Boogaland Implementation Planform. Sverker Göransson says that his forces are there on a UN mandate, like in a real mission. He expresses his thoughts about this exercise.
- We just had a meeting with all of the highest officials of all actors in the conflict area, just to coordinate our cooperation. This meeting is just one of the things that make VIKING11 so close to reality. Our commanders in real missions, Aftghanistan for example, are doing exactly the same thing during their everyday work.
The exchange of experiences is one of the things that make the exercise so important according to Sverker Göransson.
- The different strengths of people are often shown because we work so close during this kind of performance. In other words, we all share our experiences with each other in a headquarter compound. This kind of process develops the entire staff, and improves the results of the exercise.
The VIKING exercises are a good way of showing the efficiency of the Swedish Armed Forces for the rest of the world. The Swedish Supreme Commander mentions that we should not under-estimate the large number of nations participating in the exercise.
- The reactions to our leading role in this exercise are very positive, people realize that Sweden is capable of managing this kind of event. We are also showing that civil-military cooperation is as important as our other military activities. People from around the world are respecting our work with VIKING, so this is a good way of representing the Swedish flag, says General Sverker Göransson.