The valuation team, comprising of a number of nationalities and representatives from different parts of the Armed Forces, will convene over the coming days. From NATO, we find Lieutenant Colonel Edin Fako from Bosnia, based in the Netherlands, together with Major Tomas Bergman.
They bear the designation OCC, which stands for Operational Concept Capability Evaluation. This signifies that they represent the principal, and are trained in and use a common assessment tool that is based on NATO in order to measure a unit's readiness and abilities. You can read more about this on the NATO website.
Using an extensive presentation, Jonas Nilsson, who is commander of the 71st Motorized Rifle Battalion, described the unit. This was at the initial meeting with the evaluation team, who shall verify that the Battalion meets the requirements for participation in NBG.
“I’m hopeful at the prospect of a year full of training leading up to NBG, and the subsequent evaluation that will be made in the autumn. The EU has shown trust in us and the principal needs to know what they will get in terms of a unit and what we are capable of,” stresses Jonas. “A certain feeling of pride for "the young guys and girls" in the battalion is in order and they are aware of what we are training for,” he adds. “When the time comes we will be closely-knit, which no doubt the evaluation will show,” concludes Jonas Nilsson.