![]() In an unusual move, the Swedish Armed Forces Heraldry Council authorised the Nordic Battlegroup commander's use of a command sign. The state heraldist Henrik Klackenberg complained that his heraldry unit should have been consulted before making such change, but did not intend to take legal action. The decision was questioned by some Swedish heraldists, with Vladimir Sagerlund asserting that coats of arms containing lions without a penis were historically given to those who had betrayed the Swedish Crown. Since civilian women are often sexually assaulted in the war zones of the world, the commander did not consider the depiction of a penis appropriate on a uniform worn into battle. Contrary to initial media reports that the decision was taken following complaints from female soldiers, Engelbrektsson revealed in a February 2008 interview with Sveriges Radio that it was he who made the decision, based on the 2000 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. In 2007, commander Karl Engelbrektson decided that the lion's penis had to be removed. The Nordic Battlegroup's coat of arms was originally designed to incorporate heraldic elements and colours from all member nations, including "a lion that did not look Finnish, Norwegian, Estonian or Swedish." The lion is a national symbol common to the constituent countries of the Nordic Battlegroup except Ireland, and the sword and olive branch signify the ambition to impose peace - with or without the use of violence. The motto is Ad omnia paratus ( Latin: Prepared for anything). The unit's coat of arms, registered in 2008, is a blue escutcheon displaying a silver lion with red tongue and claws, holding in his right forepaw a sword and in his left an olive branch, both of gold. All personnel shall be at their operating bases within 48 hours after the decision to launch an operation is taken. 1 January the Nordic Battlegroup is on standby to be deployed within 10 days. Autumn 2010 is an intense exercise period with Illuminated Summer 10, Initial Effort 10 and Joint Action 10. ![]() Spring 2010 was used for planning, case study and exercise Combined Joint Staff Exercise CJSE 10. During autumn 2009 the main focus has been education and internal processes. On the 31st of August 2009 the "Key Nucleus" of the Force Headquarters arrived in Enköping in order to establish a functional staff. This had been planned by a core of staff officers since January 2009. The battle group second alert period was between 1 January and 30 June 2011. The unit was ready for operations between January 2008 and June 2008. Sweden, Finland and Norway have planned to form a joint battlegroup. Norway has negotiated an opt-in to participate, even though it is not an EU member state. Denmark opted out of the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU, hence all battlegroups. The military strategic command of the force is done in cooperation with any of the suitable five Operation Headquarters framework nations at the time for deployment. It consists of around 2,500 soldiers including officers, with manpower contributed from the seven participating Northern European countries, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The Nordic Battlegroup (NBG) is one of eighteen European Union battlegroups. Enköping, Sweden (can change to other participating countries)
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