The Swedish Army (Swedish language: Armén ) is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations.
Contents
History[edit | edit source]
Organization[edit | edit source]
The peace time organization of the Swedish Army is divided into a number of regiments for the different branches. The number of active regiments has been reduced since the end of the Cold War. The regiment forms training organisations that train the various battalions of the army and home guard.
The army is currently undergoing a transformation from conscription based recruitment to a professional defence. This is part of a larger goal to abandon the mass army from the Cold War and develop an army better suited to modern maneuver warfare and at the same time retain a higher readiness. By 2014, the Swedish army will have around 50 000 soldiers in either full-time or part-time duty, with eight mechanized infantry battalions instantly available at any time and the full force of 71 battalions ready to be deployed within one week.
The regular army will consist of 8 mechanized maneuver battalions, 19 support battalions of different kinds including artillery battalions, anti-aircraft battalions, combat engineer battalions, rangers, logistics battalions, etc. and 4 reserve heavy armoured battalions and 40 territorial defence battalions. The battalion is the core unit but all units will be completely modular and can be arranged in combat teams from company to brigade level with different units depending on the task. There will be a total of 6 permanent staffs under the central command capable of handling large battlegroups, 4 regional staffs and 2 brigade staffs.
Leadership[edit | edit source]
Gen. Sverker Göranson, the current supreme commander of the Swedish Armed Forces
Until 1975 the Swedish monarch was the formal head of the army. In 1937, the staff agency "Chief of the Army" (Swedish language: chefen för armén , CA) was created to lead the army in peace time. Following a larger reorganization of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, CA ceased to exist as an independent agency. Instead, the post Chief of Army Staff (Swedish language: chefen för arméledningen ) was created at the then newly instituted Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters (Swedish language: Högkvarteret , HKV).
In 1998, the Swedish Armed Forces was again reorganized. Most of the duties of the Army Chief of Staff were transferred to the newly instituted post of "Inspector General of the Army" (Swedish language: generalinspektören för armén ). The post is similar to that of the "Inspector General of the Swedish Navy" (Swedish language: generalinspektören för marinen ) and the "Inspector General of the Swedish Air Force" (Swedish language: generalinspektören för flygvapnet ).
Chiefs of the Army[edit | edit source]
- Per Sylvan, 1937–1940
- Ivar Holmquist, 1940–1944
- Archibald Douglas, 1944–1948
- Carl August Ehrenswärd, 1948–1957
- Thord C:son Bonde, 1957–1963
- Curt Göransson, 1963–1969
- Carl Eric Almgren, 1969–1976
- Nils Sköld, 1976–1984
- Erik G. Bengtsson, 1984–1990
- Åke Sagrén, 1990–1994
Chiefs of Army Staff[edit | edit source]
- Åke Sagrén, 1994–1996
- Mertil Melin, 1996–1998
Inspectors General[edit | edit source]
- Paul Degerlund, 1998–2000
- Alf Sandqvist, 2000–2005
- Sverker Göranson, 2005–2007
- Berndt Grundevik, 2007–2012
- Anders Brännström,2012–present
Commander In Chief[edit | edit source]
- Olof Thörnell, 1939-1944
- Helge Jung, 1944-1951
- Nils Swedlund, 1951-1961
- Torsten Rapp, 1961-1970
- Stig Synnergren, 1970-1978
- Lennart Ljung, 1978-1986
- Bengt Gustafsson, 1986-1994
- Owe Wiktorin, 1994-2000
- Johan Hederstedt, 2000-2003
- Håkan Syrén, 2004-2009
- Sverker Göransson, 2009–2015
- Micael Bydén, 2015-present
Infantry[edit | edit source]
Two regiments of infantry
- Livgardet (LG) stationed in Stockholm.
- Norrbottens regemente (I19) stationed in Boden.
Cavalry[edit | edit source]
One regiment and two battalions of cavalry:
- Livregementets husarer (K 3) stationed in Karlsborg (Air Assault Ranger battalion, long range reconnaissance Ranger battalion and ISTAR)
- Arméns Jägarbataljon (AJB, former K 4) (part of I 19) in Arvidsjaur (Ranger Battalion/ISTAR)
- Livgardet (LG) (one battalion) stationed in Stockholm (King's mounted Lifeguards and Military police)
- Note that the Swedish army's cavalry primarily trains light infantry, ranger units and military police.
CBRN-defence[edit | edit source]
One company of Chemical, Biological, Radiation, Nuclear defence-trained personnel
- Totalförsvarets Skyddscentrum (SkyddC) Umeå [1]
Armoured Corps[edit | edit source]
(Swedish language: Pansartrupperna )
Three regiments of armoured/mechanized troops:
- Skaraborgs regemente (P 4) Skövde
- Södra skånska regementet (P 7) Revingehed
- Norrbottens regemente (I 19) (While designated as infantry, the regiment is responsible for the training of most army branches in the Northern Sweden ) Boden
Artillery[edit | edit source]
One regiment of artillery:
- Artilleriregementet (A 9) Boden
Anti-Aircraft Artillery[edit | edit source]
One regiment of anti-aircraft troops:
- Luftvärnsregementet (Lv 6) Halmstad
Engineers[edit | edit source]
One regiment of engineering troops:
- Göta ingenjörregemente (Ing 2) Eksjö
Signal Corps[edit | edit source]
One regiment of signals:
- Ledningsregementet (LedR) Enköping
Logistic Corps[edit | edit source]
One regiment of logistical troops:
- Trängregementet (TrängR) Skövde
Rapid Reaction Force[edit | edit source]
The Swedish army will form a Rapid Reaction Organisation (Insatsorganisation in Swedish) in 2014 with the following units.[1]
| Army Unit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| War Units | Training Unit | Area | Comments | |
| 1. Tekniska Bataljon | Försvarsmaktens tekniska skola (FMTS) | Halmstad | 1 Technical battalion | |
| 2. Brigadstaben | Skaraborgs regemente (P 4) | Skövde | 2 Brigade staff | |
| 3. Brigadstaben | Norrbottens regemente (I 19) | Boden | 3 Brigade staff | |
| Livbataljonen | Livgardet (LG) | Kungsängen | Life battalion | |
| 13. Säkerhetsbataljon | Livgardet (LG) | Kungsängen | 13 Security battalion | |
| 21. Ingenjörsbataljonen | Göta ingenjörregemente (Ing 2) | Eksjö | 21 Engineering battalion | |
| 22. Ingenjörsbataljonen | Göta ingenjörregemente (Ing 2) | Eksjö | 22 Engineering battalion | |
| 31. Luftburna bataljonen | Livgardet (LG) | Kungsängen | 31 Airborne (7. Modular) battalion (light). Trained with K 3 | |
| 31. Luftburna bataljonen | Livregementets husarer (K 3) | Karlsborg | 31 Airborne (7. Modular) battalion (light). Trained with LG | |
| 32. Underrättelsebataljonen | Livregementets husarer (K 3) | Karlsborg | 32 Reconnaissance (light) (inc. a company of Parachute Rangers) | |
| 41. Mekaniserade bataljonen | Skaraborgs regemente (P 4) | Skövde | 41 Mechanised (1. modular) battalion (mechanised) | |
| 42. Mekaniserade bataljonen | Skaraborgs regemente (P 4) | Skövde | 42. Mechanised (2. modular) battalion (mechanised) | |
| 61. Luftvärnsbataljonen | Luftvärnsregementet (Lv 6) | Halmstad | 61 Air defence battalion | |
| 62. Luftvärnsbataljonen | Luftvärnsregementet (Lv 6) | Halmstad | 62 Air defence battalion | |
| 71. Mekaniserade bataljonen | Södra skånska regementet (P 7) | Revingehed | 71 Mechanised (5. modular) battalion (mechanised) | |
| 72. Mekaniserade bataljonen | Södra skånska regementet (P 7) | Revingehed | 72 Mechanised (6. modular) battalion (mechanised) | |
| 91. Artilleribataljon | Artilleriregementet (A 9) | Boden | 91 Artillery battalion | |
| 92. Artilleribataljon | Artilleriregementet (A 9) | Boden | 92 Artillery battalion | |
| 191. Mekaniserade bataljonen | Norrbottens regemente (I 19) | Boden | 191 Mechanised (3. modular) battalion (mechanised) | |
| 192. Mekaniserade bataljonen | Norrbottens regemente (I 19) | Boden | 192 Mechanised (4. modular) battalion (mechanised) | |
| 193. Jägarbataljonen | Norrbottens regemente (I 19) | Arvidsjaur | Army Rangers (light) | |
| 1. CBRN-kompaniet | Totalförsvarets skyddscentrum | Umeå | CBRN | |
| 1. Transportkompaniet | Trängregementet (TrängR) | Skövde | 1 Logistics company | |
| 1. Stridsvagnskompaniet | Skaraborgs regemente (P 4) | Skövde | 1 Tank company | |
| 2. Stridsvagnskompaniet | Skaraborgs regemente (P 4) | Skövde | 2 Tank company | |
| 3. Stridsvagnskompaniet | Norrbottens regemente (I 19) | Boden | 3 Tank company | |
| 14. Militärpoliskompaniet | Livgardet (LG) | Kungsängen | 14 Military police company | |
| 15. Militärpoliskompaniet | Livgardet (LG) | Kungsängen | 15 Military police company | |
In addition, the force will include a number of personnel from the Territorial Defence Force.
Equipment[edit | edit source]
Territorial Defence Forces[edit | edit source]
The Territorial Defence Forces/Home Guard (Hemvärnet) consists of 40 battalions with a total of 22,000 men. Many of the soldiers have served abroad in the various missions of the regular army. All soldiers are former conscripts who volunteered for the Territorial Defence.[2]
Recruitment[edit | edit source]
Until 2010 the Swedish army recruitment was based on conscription German style. All personnel were called up as conscripts for a year of national service, after which, the unit he/she trained with was put in the war reserve. Upon completion of conscript service with sufficient service marks, conscripts are eligible to apply for commissioned officer training, NCO/Warrant Officer or from 2007 stay in the Army as a professional private, mainly to be employed in the Nordic Battle Group. The army has employed soldiers for UN service on short time contracts since the 1950s for service abroad.
From the first of July 2010 the conscription-based system was abandoned and a professional army is being developed.
See also[edit | edit source]
- Military ranks of the Swedish armed forces
- Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences
- Swedish Army Museum
- List of Swedish wars
- List of Swedish Field Marshals
- List of Swedish military areas
- List of Swedish military commanders
- List of Swedish monarchs
- List of Swedish regiments
- List of military aircraft of Sweden
- 91:an (comic strip)
- Swedish allotment system
- Equipment of the Swedish Army
- Swedish Military Uniform
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ forsvarsmakten.se (2011-08-12) Försvarsmaktens delårsrapport 2011 visited 27 augusti 2011
- ↑ "Rikshemvärnschefens brev till hemvärnspersonalen, dec 2009". Hemvärnet. December 2009. http://hemvarnet.se/filer/VBYBLO/Brev_HemV_tryck.pdf. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Swedish Army – Official site (English)
- Soldf.com Unofficial Weapons, vehicles and equipment page of the Swedish Armed forces.
- Nordic military vehicles site
- Scandinavian Armour by Roy Haaland
- Svante Wendel's Unofficial Royal Swedish Army Page
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