Blue nail

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Blue Nail , or in Danish Blå Negl , is an international military command and patrol competition for active soldiers and reservists, which takes place every year in the month of February in the Fredericia / Denmark area . Blå Negl is designed as a military breakthrough exercise under the action of a hunting force and is organized by the Danish Home Guard ( Hjemmeværnet ). It is now considered one of the toughest in Europe. The exercise is designed for groups of two to six participants for a duration of 36 hours and serves as a battle march to ensure the general perseverance of the troops in uninterrupted use. The physical and psychological stress, as well as the level of training of the participants, is rated as high. Due to the high quality equipment of the Danish Home Guard, Blue Nail is considered to be a “realistic” exercise.

Fredericia - Location in Denmark
Reservists camouflaging
Bundeswehr soldier in observation position
Danish M84 flecktarn pattern
camouflaged unit
Use of night vision devices

organization

The ice wolf exercise, which takes place in the Dithmarschen area in January and is organized by the Schleswig-Holstein state command, serves to prepare for Blue Nail . Up to 70 teams from five nations take part in Blue Nail, including teams from Germany , Denmark , Finland , Switzerland , France and Sweden . Operations are controlled by Command Central (KSN) of the Danish Home Guard District South East Jutland (HDSEJ). The operations center (OPZ), which among other things also maintains a PIC (Press Information Center) for public relations, was often located in the “Ryes barracks” in recent years. From here, the movements of the runners' teams, which had just marched off from certain stations, were monitored. In 2016, 150 runners took part, including 50 Germans. The enemy command consisted of 250 men and women who were equipped with vehicles, IR and night vision devices.

equipment

In contrast to the hunting squads, runners are not permitted to use night vision devices, GPS or telecommunications devices to communicate with one another. In addition to other items of equipment, military field equipment (flecktarn combat suit) with a total weight of approx. 30 kilograms is required, including moisture protection clothing, a 50 liter backpack, eating utensils, a tent sheet, a sleeping bag, a folding spade, first aid kit, green and black camouflage make-up for facial camouflage and a headlight with optional use of white or red light. The catering is provided by EPa .

procedure

In the course of the exercise, a total of 80 kilometers off-road (there is a 40-kilometer, alternatively an 80-kilometer, off-road section to choose from) and military variety tasks must be completed at 15 to 20 stations. These include unmanned and “dead” guards in order to mislead the runners. Orientation at night is based on the reference point method with a map and compass. The Danish assault rifle GEVÆR M / 95 and three magazines of ten rounds each are issued as armament . The participants are divided into runners and hunting squads. The runners are given the task of orienting themselves on their marching route at night, to go to certain stations and there to collect a certain number of points after successfully conquering them. They must also infiltrate enemy lines unnoticed. If arrested by the Hunter Forces, 100 points will be deducted. The enemy is portrayed by the hunting commandos (Hunter Forces or OPFOR forces), which have set up in certain areas of the terrain and follow the movement of the groups of runners with night vision devices. Your task is to prevent the groups of runners from reaching the stations, to confront them, to engage them in a fire fight and to arrest them. Dogs are also used to track down the runners. The Hunter Forces are largely formed by the Danish special unit Jægerkorpset . The rules also include the fact that as soon as a participant fails, the respective team no longer runs.

There are four competition classes that are assessed separately. They differ according to the length of the route and the size of the team. Every year around 50 teams consisting of two soldiers and 10 groups consisting of six soldiers compete on the long route. The short distance is intended to introduce local teams to the demanding competition and cannot be used by foreign teams. Crew sizes are also either two or six soldiers. A total of around 10 teams compete in two separate categories on the short course.

The registration of the participants took place in the past years at the reporting head in the Ryes Barracks in Fredericia. There, after the groups have been smuggled in, the commander carries out the situation briefing and issues orders, explains the Blue Nail process and specifies the planned times for the start of the exercise (STARTEX), interruption and end (ENDEX). The meaning of the signal ammunition is also explained, so the firing of "Einstern Rot" usually means the premature end of the exercise. After the weapons and ammunition have been received and the catering group, the competitors will be driven to their deployment area by transport vehicles at night, have to sit there and receive the coordinates of their first station at the drop-off point.

The station “Watercrossing” took place in 2016 at a Danish fjord with air and water temperatures around zero degrees Celsius. Further stations combine the military skills of orientation and observation. A combat task was followed by a journey in an M113 troop transport vehicle , whereby the soldier observing from the hatch must describe the surroundings to his comrades and use the map to give the MKF driving instructions. Deviations from the target coordinate lead to point deductions after a certain distance. Another task was climbing a 30-meter-high silo tower to set up a scouting post and to steer mortar fire at certain targets.

Stations

The following disciplines can be selected at the various stations:

  • Group shooting at night
  • combat-like water crossing
  • Recognition and assignment of military objects / vehicles
  • Gun drill
  • Rappelling
  • First aid
  • Noise assignment "seeing and hearing at night"
  • Distance Estimates
  • tactical task for local combat
  • Hand grenade throw
  • Obstacle course
  • Orienteering

Results

In 2017, a German team won the main ranking of the competition for the first time. The Rhineland-Palatinate military team won ahead of teams from the host Denmark. The team, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Lötzke, was the only team not to have been cleared up in the second night, despite the 250-strong enemy command, in wet and cold weather. The Opposing Forces / Hunter Forces used night vision devices, drones, dogs and vehicles for quick relocation at Blue Nail 2017. Seven hunting squads were deployed on the team from Rhineland-Palatinate alone, but they were unable to provide them in difficult terrain and adverse weather conditions (damp ground, strong wind and sleet). Out of a total of 77 teams, only 14 managed all stations.

In 2018, Blue Nail comprised a route of 60 kilometers and 18 stations. From a total of 49 teams on the long route, only seven made it to their destination. The group of 6 from RAG SpezlEinsRes Bodensee-Oberschwaben achieved second place in their rating class. The hunting patrols provided commands from Hjemmeværnet from Sweden , Finland and Germany.

In 2019, teams from France, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden and Switzerland took part in the 60-kilometer march route. First place went to a team from the French military school Saint-Cyr . RAG SpezlEinsRes Bodensee-Oberschwaben was able to defend second place in the category for 6-man teams.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Baden-Württemberg best German competitors at Blue Nail, LOYAL, the magazine for security policy, issue 05/2019. P. 66
  2. ↑ a b c d e 36 hours of dark agony. Article about the penetration exercise Blue Nail, from Loyal , The magazine for security policy, # 4/2016
  3. ↑ Joint Support Service Command, exercise Eiswolf
  4. ↑ Air Force - Ice Wolves in Dithmarschen
  5. ↑ The conditions and the enemy pressure for the runners were made more difficult. B. u. a. also using the Fennek scout vehicle for the Hunterforce. loyal. The magazine for security policy, pp. 94–95. Eiswolf 2020 - The Hunterforce strikes back. Issue # 3, 2020
  6. ↑ Military competition ... and the wind whistles so cold ... BLUE NAIL 2013
  7. ↑ Military competition ... and the wind whistles so cold ... BLUE NAIL 2013
  8. ↑ loyal. The magazine for security policy, p. 85. Reservists from Rhineland-Palatinate run golden boots. Issue # 4, 2017
  9. ↑ Among the best teams at Blue Nail. Loyal - The Magazine for Security Policy, # 5/2018, p. 67
  10. ↑ BLUE NAIL 2019 - Promotion Général Fourcade on Facebook