Sweden Proposes Wholesale Military Reforms

Sweden Proposes Wholesale Military Reforms

www.defensenews.com

STOCKHOLM - Sweden's government March 19 proposed a major restructuring of the military, ending conscription and sharply increasing the number of troops ready for immediate deployment.

"We have developed a totally new approach to defense policy, and we are preparing for the biggest renewal of the military in decades," Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors told reporters.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Why must everyone increase defence spending? what a colossal waste of money when it could be spent on fixing our problems instead.

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 at home or abroad within a week.

They want to boost their standby army by 500%!

I wonder when sanity will prevail?

www.defensenews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Why the hell Sweden would need an army? Oh right, they were neutral in the past and opposed to NATO expansion... Seems to me like the Sweden leadership could be preparing for a NATO membership. We'll see at the meeting if Sweden is given a roadmap to NATO... that would piss off Russia.

If this is their move, more crooks in government...

[edit on 21-3-2009 by Vitchilo]

I think every country should have a force ready to defend itself.
50,000 isn't that much.
As long as they don't go invading other country's that is.
Remember Swedes were once part of the vikings.
They once had 700,000 blood thirsty killers roaming the globe.
Wanting 50,000 defenders isn't so bad.

[edit on 21-3-2009 by CaptainCaveMan]

I would say sanity is prevailing. I would go as far as to say that 95% of everything we have is a direct result of war.

Like it or not we are a warrior world. Not only that but if you are familiar with history we are in pre-war times. Everything that is happening is what has always happened before some major war has happened.

Originally posted by Vitchilo
Why the hell Sweden would need an army? Oh right, they were neutral in the past and opposed to NATO expansion... Seems to me like the Sweden leadership could be preparing for a NATO membership. We'll see at the meeting if Sweden is given a roadmap to NATO... that would piss off Russia.

If this is their move, more crooks in government...

[edit on 21-3-2009 by Vitchilo]

Big part of the Swedish defence forces has been based on a conscription system where all males were forced to join the military for a year for basic training, and then later a couple of times in their lives be on repetition training in big military exercises on brigade-level with all of the Swedish defence forces working together.

(A such a 'scenario' for an 'exercise' could be to fight off an invasion from Russia)

The military threat to Sweden was always Russia since the Russian & swedish war in the late 1700 and early 1800's

After the fall of the Soviet Union the politicians felt it was a big waste of money to have that big military apparatus and all that expensive military equipment (plane, Jets, ships, tanks) for staying neutral.

(But there was a problem with the neutrality, because since the 1960's Sweden had a secret agreement with the USA & Nato that 'IF' Sweden were attacked - both Nato and the US were going to help Sweden because of their strategic location for Nato in Europe. And those big military plans were made public just recently.)

So 15 years back they started to cut military expenses as crazies only to realize a couple of years back that it was the wrong decision - They saw the American Iraq war and latest the Georgia war and other happenings in the world as an indication to reverse their earlier descision.

That's why the Swedes are doing this big change now! they need to get up to a necessary level because they'd cut it too much before by wrong decisions!

I also think Sweden could be a member of Nato in a near future because of this!



[edit on 21-3-2009 by Chevalerous]

Originally posted by Vitchilo
Why the hell Sweden would need an army? Oh right, they were neutral in the past and opposed to NATO expansion... Seems to me like the Sweden leadership could be preparing for a NATO membership. We'll see at the meeting if Sweden is given a roadmap to NATO... that would piss off Russia.

If this is their move, more crooks in government...

[edit on 21-3-2009 by Vitchilo]

Maybe they're developing their defences because they don't want to be dragged into NATO? Or maybe into a conflict with Russia? Maybe they're just seeing what a lot of people are seeing - a near future plagued by global violent unrest - and, like a lot of people, are preparing for it the best way they can?

Perhaps Sweden is preparing for something.

We manage to annoy Russia with this show a week ago related to Eurovision Song Contest. The Russian people liked it but their embassy did not. =)

Tingaliin - View Video, Don't forget to switch to HQ.

Originally posted by Akezzon
Perhaps Sweden is preparing for something.

We manage to annoy Russia with this show a week ago related to Eurovision Song Contest. The Russian people liked it but their embassy did not. =)

Tingaliin - View Video, Don't forget to switch to HQ.

Haha! LOL! Tingeling best ever!

Tingeling - tingeliing c'mon baby shake that thing
from the Globen to Beijing - let me see your booty swing!

Yeah! Sweden did managed to get the Russians to be really pissed about it! - Great parody performance about Russian stereotypes done by the Swedes!

This song should have been in the contest for sure!

I hope that they don't see this as a declaration of war!!

I saw the Russian Embassy in Sweden was all over this and were real furious about it!

You say the Russian people liked it? I didn't know that - but I guess they saw the humor about it and laughed at the silly Swedes!



(Tjena Åkesson! men egentligen föredrar jag nog rapversionen av Tingeling, den är ju göörgrym!)





[edit on 21-3-2009 by Chevalerous]

Originally posted by Akezzon
Perhaps Sweden is preparing for something.

We manage to annoy Russia with this show a week ago related to Eurovision Song Contest. The Russian people liked it but their embassy did not. =)

Tingaliin - View Video, Don't forget to switch to HQ.

Let us never speak of that again.

reply to post by Hastobemoretolife


You are correct in that completely, my guess is they know something we dont and they cannot risk giving any heads up publically. Globally these kind of moves, posturing like this from a country such as this is unusual and decisive for reasons not wholly released to the public or media. SOMETHING is up that much I think is fair to say.