New officer

Major Raul Arbinus  from Stockholm, Sweden joined FINCENT personnel on 1 August to serve as an exchange officer for two years. The exchange is based on a bilateral agreement between Finland and Sweden. Maj Arbinus' predecessor Maj Björn Innala returned to his home unit after a successful service of two years.

Maj Arbinus served at SWEDINT for a year before transferring to FINCENT. Before that he worked in the Amphibious Regiment in Berga, Sweden. Maj Arbinus  has an impressive service history in several missions: Lebanon 1991-1992, Bosnia 1993-1994, SHIRBRIG 1996-1997 and Kosovo 1999-2000.

At FINCENT Maj Arbinus, an experienced course director, will be responsible for conducting the NATO/PFPCLC (NORDCAPS NATO / Partnership for Peace Coordination, Liaison and Cooperation Course)  and EUCLC (Coordination, Liaison and Cooperation Course for European Union Operations) courses, with the first course starting in September.  The course is the first international course in FINCENT's new premises.  The new exchange officer has Finnish roots and accordingly has a good command of the Finnish language, which facilitates day-to-day routines. Mar Arbinus' motivation to serve as an exchange officer in Finland includes promoting his career path by means of gaining new experiences as well as further refining his Finnish language skills.