SWEDINT’s course NLTPC has four iterations a year under the leadership of Course Director Major Peter Almström. The most recent iteration was conducted in collaboration with Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) in the United Kingdom.
The course takes place within a simulated scenario where a NATO corps conducts an offensive against a peer or near-peer adversary in northeastern Europe. It culminates with the students delivering a "decision brief" to the corps commander, who also serves as an instructor on the course.
Bridging Barriers
“It’s been rewarding to see how officers from other countries operate,” says Lieutenant Oscar Lostorp from the Life Guards. “There are cultural differences, but most of the time, you can work through or around them. Language is the biggest barrier, but there are also methodological differences—what formats people are used to and how they approach things. Priorities differ slightly too.”
Oscar is currently serving with the basic training company of the Life Guards Brigade, but will rotate to the multinational brigade staff in Latvia at the end of June. He recommends the NLTPC course to anyone rotating into NATO staffs or headquarters—but also sees it as a strong, general military educational course.
“What I’ve gained most from the course is a better understanding of how things work at the higher levels—their tasks and the longer-term perspective. What surprised me most is how well-developed NATO’s methods are. It’s a very complex organization trying to synchronize different nations’ formats, templates, and structures, which is a challenge. There’s a lot to learn related to NATO—not least the different terms and acronyms, which I’ll benefit from when I rotate,” says Oscar.
Multinational Training
Captain Joel Häggblad from the Southern Skåne Regiment has also worked with the basic training of conscripts. He will be deployed to the Multinational Brigade in Latvia (MNB-LVA), with Southern Skåne Regiment’s 71st Battalion in 2026.
“During the course, we’ve been operating at a very high level—corps level—but you can trace the red thread showing how tasks cascade down from the division to the brigade level, which we’ll be part of in Latvia,” says Joel.
“What I’ll especially take with me from the course are the actual staff products we created and the understanding of how we reach the conclusions that shape our battle plans. Another key takeaway is the general training I’ve received in serving in a multinational context, which places demands on the individual to adapt to something other than the typical Swedish environment.”
The course also includes welfare activities, providing informal opportunities to network and discuss everyday life, politics, and military affairs in other countries.
“It has a strong team-building effect,” Joel concludes.