Swedish Armed Forces

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Swedish Armed Forces
Image:Swedish Armed Forces logo.png
Military manpower
Military age18 years of age
Availabilitymales age 15-49: 2,062,566 (2001 est.)
Fit for military servicemales age 15-46: 1,802,955 (2001 est.)
Reaching military age annuallymales: 51,506 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures
Dollar figure$5 billion (FY98)
Percent of GDP2.1% (FY98)

The Swedish Armed Forces, or Försvarsmakten, is a Government agency responsible for the peacetime operation of the armed forces of Sweden. The primary task of the agency is to train and deploy peace support forces abroad, while maintaing the long-term ability to refocus on the defense of the country in the event of war. . The Armed Forces is branched into Army, Air Force and Navy. As a Government agency, it reports to the Swedish Ministry of Defence. The head of armed forces is the Commander-in-Chief of the Swedish Armed Forces (Överbefälhavaren, ÖB), beside the Sovereign the most senior 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 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. 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 Defense Proposition 2004, the number of troops in training will decrease even more to between 5000 and 10000 each year, which emphasizes the need to recruit only the soldiers later prepared to volunteer for international service.

Currently, one of the most important tasks for the Swedish Armed Forces is to form a Swedish-led EU Battle Group to which Norway, Finland and Estonia will also contribute. The Nordic Battle Group (NBG) is to have a 10-day deployment readiness during the first half of 2008.

Contents

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Possible enemies

Usually, the adversary in tactical wargames and scenarios is thought to use equipment from the former Warsaw Pact, although a specific country is never mentioned for political reasons. The majority of Swedish equipment is NATO compatible, 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 aims to have the option of remaining neutral in case of proximate war, and therefore not a formal member of NATO or any other military alliance.

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Current deployments

Currently, Sweden has deployed military forces in Liberia, Afghanistan and Kosovo. Observers from Sweden have been sent to a large number of countries, including Georgia, North Korea and Lebanon.

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Training

Officers are trained at the Swedish Armed Forces Military Academy which has establishments at Karlberg Castle outside 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.

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Military Ranks

Swedish military ranks, essentially corresponds 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 commissioned 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 non-navy Marine Forces uses the same system as the Army.

Army RanksNavy Ranks
SwedishEnglishGermanSwedishEnglishGerman
FältmarskalkField MarshalFeldmarschall Fleet Admiral 
GeneralGeneralGeneralAmiralAdmiralAdmiral
GenerallöjtnantLieutenant GeneralGeneralleutnantViceamiralVice AdmiralVizeadmiral
GeneralmajorMajor GeneralGeneralmajorKonteramiralRear AdmiralKonteradmiral
BrigadgeneralBrigadier GeneralBrigadegeneralFlottiljamiralCommodoreFlottillenadmiral
ÖversteColonelOberstKommendörCaptainKapitän zur See
ÖverstelöjtnantLieutenant ColonelOberstleutnantKommendörkaptenCommanderFregattenkapitän
MajorMajorMajorÖrlogskaptenLieutenant CommanderKorvettenkapitän
KaptenCaptainHauptmannKaptenLieutenantKapitänleutnant
LöjtnantLieutenantOberleutnantLöjtnantSub-LieutenantOberleutnant zur See
FänrikSecond LieutenantLeutnantFänrikMidshipmanLeutnant 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. No Swedish Field Marshals have been appointed since the 19th century.

Warrant Officer & NCO Ranks
ClassSwedishEnglish
Warrant
Officer		FanjunkareSergeant Major
SergeantMaster Sergeant
NCOÖverfurirFirst Sergeant
FurirSergeant
KorpralCorporal
PrivateVicekorpralLance Corporal
MenigPrivate

All officer's ranks below commissioned officers use the same system of rank independent of their branch of service and are divided into two classes. The higher class, "underofficer", has a status comparable to that of a warrant officer and often carries a responsibility comparable to that of a lower ranking commissioned officer. The lower class, "underbefäl", are the non-commissioned officers of the armed forces. Cadets hold a rank equivalent to that of a WO "Sergeant", but wear different insignia. The ranks of fanjunkare, överfurir and vicekorpral are rarely used in the regular service. They are however used in volunteer and auxiliary forces.

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Organization

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Branches

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Military Districts

The Military Districts were decommissioned the 31 of december 2005.

The former ones were:

  • Gotland Military District (MD G)
  • Central Military District (MD M)
  • Northern Military District (MD N)
  • Southern Military District (MD S)
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Schools

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

  • Amphibious Combat School (AmfSS) located in Vaxholm
  • Artillery Combat School (ArtSS) located in Kristinehamn
  • Armed Forces Technical School (FMTS) located in Halmstad
  • Air Force Uppsala Schools (F 20) located in Uppsala
  • Field Work School (FarbS) located in Eksjö
  • Air Force Air Officer School (FBS) located in Uppsala
  • Airborne Ranger School (FJS) located in Karlsborg
  • Flight School (FlygS) located in Linköping/Malmen
  • Armed Forces Halmstad Schools (FMHS) located in Halmstad
  • Helicopter Combat School (HkpSS) located in Linköping/Malmen
  • Home Guard Combat School (HvSS) located in Södertälje
  • Command School (LedS) located in Enköping
  • Anti-Aircraft Combat School (LvSS) located in Halmstad
  • Military Academy Halmstad (MHS H) located in Halmstad
  • Military Academy Karlberg (MHS K) located in Stockholm/Karlberg
  • Military Academy Östersund (MHS Ö) located in Östersund, disbanded 2005-06-16.
  • Ground Combat School (MSS) located in Skövde
  • Naval Schools (ÖS) located in Karlskrona
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Centres

  • Armed Forces War Case Centre (FKSC) located in Stockholm
  • Armed Forces Medical Centre (FSC) located in Karlstad/Hammarö
  • Air Medicine 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 Strängnäs
  • 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
  • Total Defense Protection Centre (SkyddC) located in Umeå
  • Swedish EOD and Demining Centre (SWEDEC) located in Eksjö
  • Swedish Armed Forces International Centre (Swedint) located in Stockholm/Kungsängen
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Government agencies reporting to the Ministry of Defence

Main article: Government agencies in Sweden

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Voluntary Defence Organizations

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See also

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References

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External links

Template:Swedish Armed Forcesnn:Svenska försvarsmakten sv:Svenska försvarsmakten

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