Swedish and U.S. Marines gathered in Sweden’s rocky coastal archipelago to improve their littoral warfighting skills and enhance interoperability during Exercise Archipelago Endeavor 2024 (AE 24).
“This is an annual exercise between Sweden and U.S., and it is the seventh time we conducted it, but it’s the first time that we conducting the exercise as an ally. Before that, we have conducted the exercise as a partner,” said Lt. Col. Patrik Berge of the Stockholm Marine Regiment, representing the host nation.
The Stockholm Marine Regiment operates “where the sea meets the land,” and serves as a vital link between naval and army forces. Using small units, fast boats, mines, missiles, and mortars, the regiment is the Swedish Armed Forces’ foremost resource in defending the country’s many coastal archipelago areas.
The exercise took place over a several week period in August and September 2024 at the Birga Naval Base south of Stockholm, in and around the Stockholm Archipelago.
Berge said approximately 500 Swedish and U.S. Marines and Sailors took part in the exercise, including approximately 225 U.S. personnel from the Marine Rotational Force-Europe (MRF-E), which operated alongside Sweden’s (SWE) 1st and 4th Amphibious Regiments.4
Two…