The Swedish Home Guard, the military reserve force of the Swedish Armed Forces, faces a soldier shortage after a wave of applicants realised what joining up would entail.
Jonas Algotsson, battalion commander for the Home Guard, has noted an influx of applicants who seemed to lack a clear understanding of the demands of the role.
“I had an extremely large number of stupid applications that came in connection with the Ukraine war,” he said.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there was a notable surge in applications to the Home Guard, with approximately 30,000 submissions in 2022, a significant increase from the average 4,500 annually.
Yet since then a third of applications were withdrawn.
Johanna Nyman, a recruitment co-ordinator for the Home Guard in Skaraborg county said many of new recruits were initially motivated by a desire to defend their country but became disillusioned when they realised the practical realities of military service.
According to Nyman, at first contact it was clear they had little understanding of what they had signed up for.
Daniel Olswald, recruitement co-ordinatoor in Bohuslän in Northern Sweden echoed his colleagues’ sentiments. He observed that many recruits were surprised by the expectation of them handling weapons and engaging in potential combat duties.
“They would say things like, ‘What? Weapons? Am I really expected to go to war?’,” he recalled.
At the current rate, the stated goal of the Swedish Armed Forces to increase the number of Home Guard soldiers by several thousand may not be achieved.
It is now focusing on recruiting individuals who have prior basic military training.
In contrast, the Netherlands has reported more positive outcomes with its new applicants in that country’s armed forces.
According to Dutch media, with its “voluntary year of service” programme, of the 136 individuals who began it, only 10 withdrew.
The majority chose to continue their service, with many joining the regular army.
State Secretary for Defence of the Netherlands Gijs Tuinman expressed satisfaction with the results.
“I especially hope that the service-year soldiers stay and continue to serve for a long time,” he said.
In looking for recruits, the plans aim to use screening or questionnaires by which top candidates can be selected.https://t.co/6KsQ14oISn
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 23, 2024
