Polisregion Bergslagen took part in Sweden's largest collaborative total defense exercise, focusing on highest readiness and war. Nearly 300 participants from police, county administrations, and the Armed Forces gathered over two days to handle fictitious threats. The exercise aimed to test collaboration and decision-making.
Polisregion Bergslagen was part of Mellersta civilområdet, which participated in a higher regional leadership training exercise (HRLTÖ), Sweden's largest collaborative exercise of its kind for total defense. The exercise was planned by a working group led by Mellersta civilområdet over the past year and involved nearly 300 participants from the county administrations of Dalarna, Gävleborg, Södermanland, Uppsala, Värmland, Västmanland, and Örebro counties, as well as Mellersta and Västra military regions, Trafikverket's Mellersta region, and police regions Bergslagen, Mitt, and Öst. Participants used paper and pen—no computers allowed—and handled events through so-called game cards and counterplay, including war situations, fuel shortages across large parts of the country, and communication to an anxious public. The focus was on highest readiness, meaning war, and support for the Armed Forces. The goal was to develop structures, plans, and documents and to train decision-makers in collaboration. Anna-Karin Sjöstedt, leadership at Polisregion Bergslagen, said: “It was very valuable to test the method together with the two other police regions and other actors in the exercise. We had the opportunity to calibrate ourselves, identify development areas, and get confirmation on what already works today.” Mattias Forssten, leadership at Polisregion Öst, emphasized Polismyndighetens principles: information-driven approach, problem at the center, proactive, and together as a system. Torbjörn Nilsson, leadership at Polisregion Mitt, commented: “We were trained on events with major societal impact across diverse domains. This will raise society's collective ability to handle complex events with significant societal impact.” The next step is to evaluate the exercise.
