[ad_1]
Four cities have competed for the two new army regiments: Östersund, Sollefteå, Härnösand and Falun.
By late Friday, it became clear that the Dal Regiment would resurface in the Falun and Västernorrland regiment in Sollefteå. In Östersund, a detachment called the Jämtland Field Hunting Corps is re-established.
Ahead of this fall’s defense decision, there has been broad political agreement on a number of initiatives in Sweden. The navy once again has an amphibious regiment in Gothenburg, the army hunter training is expanded in Arvidsjaur, where the K 4 regiment reappears, as well as Uppland’s F 16 air flotilla in Uppsala.
But until recently, it was unclear where the two new army regiments will be located.
The new units are necessary because Sweden has closed almost the entire defense army of the territory for the last 30 years. Between the Command Regiment in Enköping and the Norrbotten Regiment I 19 in Boden – a distance of 90 km – there is currently no regiment.
The Defense Committee stated 2019 that two new regiments are needed for “the protection of western connections through western Svealand to the Oslo area and through Jämtland county to Trondheim. Units are also needed for the protection of important total defense facilities. “
When the Swedish Armed Forces negotiated in the early summer of this year, the money was only enough for one of these two regiments. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist (S) wanted to put him in Östersund.
– Östersund is a very central strategic military location in case Sweden needs support in a conflict situation, explained Peter Hultqvist (S) in July.
In plain text: Östersund is close to NATO’s neighbors Norway and Trondheim, with its harbor and rock chambers where the US Marine Corps stores tanks and heavy equipment.
In July, the government commissioned the Swedish Armed Forces to calculate costs and prepare for a resettlement in Östersund in the years 2026-30.
When the S-MP government reached an agreement with the Center Party and the Liberals in mid-September before the defense decision, there was more money for defense.
Therefore, there may be two new regiments, which will also be established more quickly. “Two new infantry regiments will be reestablished in 2022 and will reach their maximum capacity in 2026-30,” it says in the agreement in principle, which DN says.
But suddenly Östersund was no longer mentioned. There was no indication at all where the regiments should be located; here all four parties disagreed. The decision is carried out: “Which regiments will be decided in relation to the specialization bill”, which will be presented in this way next Thursday.
A defense decision must be broadly anchored in the Riksdag. The four municipalities that are now candidates are intensively prosecuting political parties with brochures, emails, phone calls and personal networks. “This takes all the oxygen in the room,” sighs a defense politician.
The last time the Riksdag decided to reestablish a regiment was on defense decision in 2015, and then on Gotland. It has become an expensive experience.
Gotland’s 18 P regiment was disbanded in 2005 and its area in Visby was sold by the state for 40 million SEK. The new regiment south of Visby costs 780 million, in construction costs alone. In addition, the environmental assessment of the shooting range in Tofta has dragged on for years, so that half of the shooting range cannot be used as before.
Therefore, the conditions of the four municipalities become important (see graph). The new infantry regiments will train 250 recruits a year, who will then form four firing battalions of approximately 1,000 soldiers and officers each. There must also be conditions for brigade training in the future (a brigade has about 4,000 people).
– You should invest where you get the most bang for your buck. You can definitely get it in Falun and Sollefteå. As an officer, I have been responsible for training and shooting ranges, so I have some experience of what it can cost, says Roger Richthoff, who is the defense politician for the Swedish Democrats.
Roger Richthoff appreciates that build in Falun it costs 100 million and in Sollefteå 850 million. In Östersund, on the other hand, new buildings are required for just under two billion, which takes 5 to 6 years. This is time we do not have due to the security policy situation, Richthoff emphasizes.
In Falun, they have never removed the closed Valley Regiment sign and the road signs remain there. In addition to SD, M, KD, and L support a reset there.
– You could have a solution, for example, with Falun and Östersund. We will take a final position once we have seen the bill. We are not locked into any solution, but military strategic considerations should determine where the regiments should be located, says Pål Jonson, the moderates.
– It will be Falun and another regiment. So it is not entirely decisive for us whether it will be Östersund or Sollefteå, says Mikael Oscarsson, the Christian Democrats.
– I absolutely support Falun. I want to go back to the choice between Östersund and Sollefteå. I try to think from a factual and strategic perspective. Of course, local conditions in terms of infrastructure and contracting power must also be taken into account, said Allan Widman of the Liberals before the deal was completed.
The army on its way to two new regiments, but where will they be?
Photo: Mickan Palmqvist
That which spoke for Falun It is not only the proximity to the Oslo area but also the “important total defense facilities” that, according to the Defense Committee, must be protected. Namely, secret mountain facilities in Svealand for the kingdom’s political and military leadership in the war.
Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist (S) does not want to comment on the situation before the government has made its decision, which will take place at an additional government meeting on Wednesday next week. It is clear that the Center Party played a key role in the decision.
– I refrain from commenting on the ongoing negotiations, the Center’s defense politician, Daniel Bäckström, previously told DN.
His position and that of the Center Party has been complicated by the fact that in Östersund, Sollefteå and Falun, they have their party friends in the most important position as chairmen of the city council. In Härnösand, on the other hand, there is a Social Democrat.
DN sources with knowledge of the matter stated late Friday that a political agreement was reached in which Falun regains the Dal I 13 Regiment, and Sollefteå obtains the I 21 Regiment of Västernorrland. train a battalion of field hunters.
The final decision will be made by the Riksdag in December.
