Swedish Armed Forces

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Swedish Armed Forces
Coat of arms of the Swedish Armed Forces
Military Force - Fully mobilised[1]
Officers 4,500
Regular 18,000 (100,000 trained in the last 10 years)
Militia 37,000
Reserve 262,000
Total 321,500
Military Force (within 1 month)[1]
Officers 2,700
Regular 7,000
Militia 37,000 (within hours)
Total 65,500
Military manpower[2]
Military age 19 years of age
Availability males age 19-49: 1,838,427
females age 19-49: 1,774,659 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service males age 19-49: 1,493,668
females age 19-49: 1,441,257 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually males age 18-49: 58,724
females age 19-49: 55,954 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures
Dollar figure $7bn (44.7bn SEK) 2008[3]
Percent of GDP 1.4% 2008[2]

The Swedish Armed Forces (Swedish: Försvarsmakten), is a Government agency responsible for the operation of the armed forces of Sweden. The primary task of the agency is to train and deploy military forces abroad, while concurrently maintaining the long-term ability to defend Sweden. There are three service branches: Army, Air Force and Navy, all reporting to the Ministry of Defence. The head of the armed forces is the Supreme Commander (Överbefälhavaren, ÖB) who is, apart from the Sovereign, the highest ranking officer in the country.

Sweden's military is built on conscription, and until the end of the Cold War nearly all males reaching the age of military service were conscripted. In recent years, the number of conscripted males has been reduced dramatically, while the number of female volunteers has increased slightly. Recruitment has generally shifted towards finding the most motivated recruits, rather than solely on the otherwise most fit for service, although there are exceptions. All soldiers serving abroad are by law required to be volunteers. In 1975 the total number of conscripts was 45,000. By 2003 it was down to 15,000. After the Defence Proposition 2004, the number of troops in training will decrease even further to between 5,000 and 10,000 each year, which emphasizes the need to recruit only the soldiers later prepared to volunteer for international service. As of 2007, the government discussed dropping the peacetime draft altogether.

Today, the total manpower available to the Swedish Armed Forces when fully mobilized is said to consist of about 321,500. This stands in sharp contrast to the 1980's, before the fall of the Soviet Union, when Sweden could gather up to 1,000,000 men when total mobilization had been declared; but the importance placed on defensive spending during the Cold War is perhaps best reflected by the fact that Sweden in the late 1950s ran the world's fourth-largest air force. This is now far from being the case. Indeed, after rapid draw-downs in the mid-to-late 1990s, there are now more admirals and generals in the Swedish Armed Forces force than there are ships and artillery pieces, respectively, for them to command.

As of 2006, wartime placement has been resumed, after being scrapped in 2003. At present Sweden can mobilise 321,500 men and women. This force includes 4,500 officers, 18,000 conscripts, 262,000 in the reserve and 37,000 Homeguards (a voluntary militia service). But mobilisation is assumed to take one year (although no mobilisation readiness exists), and the formations assumed are of battalion level. In a couple of months, 2,700 officers and 7,000 conscripts are available, with the state militias being available within hours[1]

Currently, one of the Swedish Armed Forces' most important tasks is to serve as the lead nation of an EU Battle Group to which Norway, Finland, Estonia and Ireland are also contributing. The Nordic Battle Group (NBG) is presently on a 10-day deployment readiness until the end of the first half of 2008.

In Spring 2008 it was announced that several regiments of the Armed Forces may be disbanded in order to conserve national revenue.

Contents

[edit] Doctrine

Usually, the adversary in tactical military exercises and scenarios is thought to use equipment from the former Warsaw Pact. A common name for the OPFOR has been "Stormakt Röd" (Great power Red)[4]. Although a specific country is rarely mentioned for political reasons, there is a saying in the armed forces, "Fienden kommer alltid öster ifrån", The enemy always comes from the east. Swedish equipment, training, and procedures are NATO interoperable, and most scenarios include some form of cooperation with one or more of the NATO members. Recent political decisions have strongly emphasized the will to participate in international operations, to the point where this has become the main short-term goal of training and equipment acquisition. Sweden hopes to have the option of remaining neutral in case of proximate war, and is therefore not a formal member of NATO or any other military alliance.

[edit] Current deployments

Currently, Sweden has deployed military forces in the sea outside Lebanon, in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Kosovo; further troops have been promised for a French-led EU mission in Chad. A promise was made in 2006 for the planned UN peacekeeping forces in Darfur, Sudan, but later retracted in 2008. Observers from Sweden have been sent to a large number of countries, including Georgia, North Korea, Lebanon, Israel and Sri Lanka.

[edit] Training

Officers are trained in the different combat schools and also at the Military Academy Karlberg which has establishments at Karlberg Palace in Stockholm, and in Halmstad. Conscripts are trained at the different units of the three branches, the purpose of which primarily being training installations and without significant wartime importance.

[edit] Commissioned Ranks

Swedish military ranks, essentially corresponds phonetically to those used by the armed forces of the English speaking world. Swedish ranks correspond even more closely to those in German usage due to linguistic similarities. See comparative military ranks.

There are two different systems of rank for professional officers, depending on whether one is commissioned according to the system used in the Army, or the one in the Navy. The Air Force and the Navy's Amphibious Corps use the same system as the Army.

Army Ranks (phonetic translation) Navy Ranks (phonetic translation)
Swedish English German Swedish English German
Fältmarskalk (until 1972) Field Marshal Generalfeldmarschall Generalamiral Admiral of the Fleet
(Fleet Admiral in the U.S. Navy)		 a) Großadmiral, b) Generaladmiral
General General General Amiral Admiral Admiral
Generallöjtnant Lieutenant General Generalleutnant Viceamiral Vice Admiral Vizeadmiral
Generalmajor Major General Generalmajor Konteramiral Rear Admiral Konteradmiral
Brigadgeneral Brigadier General Brigadegeneral Flottiljamiral Commodore Flottillenadmiral
Överste Colonel Oberst Kommendör Captain Kapitän zur See
Överstelöjtnant Lieutenant Colonel Oberstleutnant Kommendörkapten Commander Fregattenkapitän
Major Major Major Örlogskapten Lieutenant Commander Korvettenkapitän
Kapten Captain Hauptmann Kapten Lieutenant Kapitänleutnant
Löjtnant Lieutenant Oberleutnant Löjtnant Sub-Lieutenant
(Lieutenant Junior Grade in the U.S. Navy)		 Oberleutnant zur See
Fänrik Second Lieutenant Leutnant Fänrik Midshipman
(Ensign in the U.S. Navy)		 Leutnant zur See

The military introduced the rank of Brigadier General in 2001. The rank and the responsibilities associated with it existed before 2001, but all officers were commissioned as "Colonel First Class", or Överste av första graden, i. e. not a General. The same goes for Flottiljamiral which used to be Kommendör av första graden, or "Captain First Class". The background for this anomaly was a political will to limit the number of Generals in the armed forces. The last Swedish Field Marshal to be appointed was Johan August Sandels in 1824. The title was retained until 1972 as a wartime award. (It was never used as such practically due to Sweden not being to war between 1824 and 1972.)

[edit] Organization

NH90 of the Swedish Armed Forces
NH90 of the Swedish Armed Forces

[edit] Branches

[edit] Schools

Some of the schools listed below answer to other units, listed under the various branches of the Armed Forces.

[edit] Centres

  • Armed Forces Medical Centre (FSC) located in Gothenburg
  • Aeromedical Centre (FMC) located in Stockholm
  • Armed Forces Logistics (FMLOG) located in Karlstad, Boden, Karlskrona and Arboga
  • Armed Forces Intelligence and Security Centre (FMUndSäkC) located in Uppsala
  • Armed Forces Musical Centre (FöMusC) located in Stockholm/Kungsängen
  • Joint Forces Command (OPIL) with Army, Air and Naval Tactical Commands (ATK, FTK and MTK) located in Stockholm and Uppsala
  • Recruitment Centre (RekryC) located in Stockholm
  • National CBRN Defense Centre (SkyddC) located in Umeå
  • Swedish EOD and Demining Centre (SWEDEC) located in Eksjö
  • Swedish Armed Forces International Centre (Swedint) located in Stockholm/Kungsängen

[edit] Government agencies reporting to the Ministry of Defence

Main article: Government agencies in Sweden

[edit] Voluntary Defence Organizations

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Ivarsson, Ulf (February 2007). "Pendeln måste slå tillbaka". Hemvärnet (1): 5. 
  2. ^ a b "CIA Factbook 2007". U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (2007-02-08). Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
  3. ^ The Facts 2006/2007 (PDF).
  4. ^ For use of the term "Stormakt röd" in regular media, see for example this editorial.
  5. ^ http://www2.mil.se/en/About-the-Armed-Forces/Organisation/Address-list/

http://www.hemvarnet.mil.se/hemvarnet/index.php?c=news&id=30847

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Swedish Armed Forces


v • d • e
Military of Europe
Sovereign
states

Albania · Andorra · Armenia1 · Austria · Azerbaijan2 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus1 · Czech Republic · Denmark4 · Estonia · Finland · France4, 5, 6 · Georgia2 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Republic of Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan3 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia3 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain6 · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey3 · Ukraine · United Kingdom (England • Northern Ireland • Scotland • Wales) · Vatican City
Dependencies,
autonomies,
other territories

Abkhazia 2 · Adjara1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Åland · Azores · Crimea · Faroe Islands · Gagauzia · Gibraltar · Greenland7 · Guernsey · Jan Mayen · Jersey · Kosovo · Isle of Man · Madeira8 · Nagorno-Karabakh1 · Nakhchivan1 · Northern Cyprus1 · South Ossetia 2 · Svalbard · Transnistria
Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country. 1 Entirely in Southwest Asia.  2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the border definitions.  3 / 4 / 5 / 6 Has part of its territory in Asia / North America / South America / Africa.  7 / 8 Entirely on the North American Plate / African Plate.