Staff made a courtesy call at the Royal Palace and met with the Commandant of the Royal Palace, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Beck-Friis and the President of the City Council, Olle Burell. A force reception was held on board ORP General T. Kosciusko, attended by dignitaries including the Swedish Minister for Defence, His Excellency Mr. Pal Jonson and the Chief of the Swedish Navy, Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog-Haslum.
Sweden - NATO’s closest partner - is an aspirant NATO member and regularly participates in NATO exercises. We sail side by side in the Baltic Sea and we have a long track record of cooperation in operations
Following the successful visit, SNMG1 took part in a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) with the Swedish corvette HSwMS Sundsvall. Under NATO command were German ship FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Dutch ship HNLMS Van Amstel, Polish ship ORP General T. Kosciusko, and French ships FS Auvergne and FS Somme.
Ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) made a scheduled port visit to Stockholm between 24 – 26 June 23.
“My Task Group left the port of Stockholm to take part in a multi-day exercise with the Swedish Navy in the Baltic Sea,” said the Commander SNMG1, Rear Admiral Thorsten Marx. “Sweden - NATO’s closest partner - is an aspirant NATO member and regularly participates in NATO exercises. We sail side by side in the Baltic Sea and we have a long track record of cooperation in operations.”
“This ongoing exercise with the Swedish corvette HSwMS Sundsvall is very beneficial for all participants in the Task Group,” continued Rear Admiral Marx. “We train together and sharpen our operational skills. Through our common presence, we contribute to deterrence and reassurance in the Baltic Sea. Overall, our common exercises send a strong signal in terms of defence and multinational cooperation.”
SNMG1 is one of four Standing Naval Forces that comprise the maritime component of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), which is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF). To respond to contingency situations, additional forces can be added to this group, with the NATO command staff on board the Flagship capable of providing timely support to NATO operations.