– Rescue personnel from all four countries cooperated on a practical level. For example, Finnish and Swedish air ambulance rehearsed a joint evacuation of injured. We are impressed by our Russian colleagues who travelled for two days driving from Murmansk to Luleå and it is as far as I know the first time that Russian rescue personnel participates in a practical exercise in Sweden. As rescue professionals tend to think the same way the language barrier was less of a problem than we had first anticipated, says Lars Hillerstrom, Exercise Director, to BarentSaga.
– All four countries are participating in almost all steps of the exercise - in the preparations, in the practical operations, and in the evaluation process. The most important result of this year’s exercise is that rescue professionals from the Barents countries worked together, exchanged experience and expertise, and built confidence for mutual benefit not only between organizations but also on an individual level, explains Lars Hillerstrom.