[Marxism] Conscript army abolished in Sweden

[Joonas Laine <jjonas@xxxxxx>]

Sweden has taken the decisive step in the process of transforming its
conscript army into a professional one, and focusing more on
international "crisis management" and "peace keeping" tasks. Sweden is
not a member of Nato, and even though my impression is that in Sweden
there is no such push towards Nato membership as there is in Finland
within the government parties, this move nevertheless makes Sweden more
Nato compatible.

---

Conscript army abolished
News in short | 2009-06-16
http://www.stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=3426

The Swedish Parliament today voted in support [153 for, 150 against] of
the Governments proposal for a new stance of policy on the Swedish Armed
Forces. This means that the conscript army, initiated in 1901, in effect
is abandoned. A parliamentary committee will next week present the
proposition in full detail.

--

Sweden sets sights on military reforms
Published: 19 Mar 09 16:28 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/18330/20090319/

Defence minister Sten Tolgfors on Thursday presented a government bill
designed to shape the future look of Swedenâs defence forces.

âThis is the largest reform in several decades,â said Tolgfors, adding
that Sweden will be well suited to defend against existing threats.

âThis will be a major strengthening of Swedenâs defence capabilities.â

While Sweden today counts 30,000 troops, of whom only about a third are
required to be prepared for deployment within a year, Tolgfors said the
aim was to have 50,000 soldiers ready for action eithe at home or abroad
within a week.

"We have so far been poorly prepared to meet sudden threats," he said,
adding that the government proposal, handed to parliament Thursday, aims
to give Sweden "one of Europe's most modern militaries in terms of
organisation."

Over the next five years, Sweden would also completely end its
dependence on an already much diminished number of conscripted soldiers.

"We will move towards voluntary recruitment," Tolgfors said, excluding
the notion of a professional army.

The new deployment goal should be reached by 2019.

According to Tolgfors, Sweden is set to have a more usable military
force with smaller and more flexible units which can cooperate with one
another.

It will take some time to implement the reforms, especially when it
comes to the shifting from a conscription-based to volunteer-based force.

Tolgfors said the current military force structure will remain in place
until 2014, after which there would be a gradual shift.

The defence minister wouldnât commit, however, to a specific date on
which Swedenâs military will have be able to deploy 50,000 troops within
one weekâs notice.

âWeâre going to need calibrate that every year,â he said.

The bill is based on two broad agreements reached by the governmentâs
Defence Commsion which extend across the seven political parties
represented there.

Considerations from a commission looking into Swedenâs conscription
system are also included in the proposition.

Among other things, the bill proposes scrapping the current division
between units set up specifically for duty abroad and other units. In
the future, all military units will have the same capability to deploy
in Sweden or overseas.

The Swedish National Home Guard (HemvÃrnet) will be given a greater role
in the defence of Sweden. Of the planned 22,000 strong force, 17,000
will receive access to advanced training and equipment and be required
to carry out tours of duty even in peacetime.

The number of deployable mobile battalions will be increased from three
to eight. The new bill also proposes to double the militaryâs capacity
for peacekeeping operations by always having 1,700 soldiers ready for
deployment overseas.

With respect to materiel, the bill calls for the Swedish Air Force to
have 100 JAS Gripen Model C/D fighter planes, and an increased number of
helicopters.

The proposal also calls for 122 combat vehicles, an increased number of
armoured vehicles, as well as seven corvette ships, five of which will
be Visby-class corvettes.

Tolgfors stressed, however, that for the government to reach an
agreement on defence policy with the political opposition, the latter
must be prepared to let go of unrealistic proposals to cut spending.

He argued that the oppositionâs proposals are hard to justify because
they are several billion kronor below the governmentâs proposed budget.

Sweden's centre-right government had been scheduled to present its
reform plan for military development between 2010 and 2014 last year,
when massive cuts were expected, but postponed the proposal after
determining that the Georgia war last August had altered its security
evaluations.

"Today's threats against Sweden cannot be solved with yesterday's
defence," Tolgfors said in a statement.

"The war in Georgia for instance shows that developments can happen very
quickly," he added, pointing out that "that war was over in five days
and the outcome was determined in two."

Thursday's proposal represents a political about-face after the Swedish
military has in recent years repeatedly seen major cutbacks in its
budget and troop numbers.



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