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Carl-Johan Karlsson, Task & Purpose: The Swedish Military Can’t Retain Enough Troops. Here’s Why
As Russian aggression in recent years has prompted Sweden to ramp up military capacity, the country’s widely praised welfare system has begun to pose a surprising problem in the recruitment of soldiers.
In 2010, the Swedish Armed Forces converted to a system of entirely voluntary participation, scrapping a 109-year old tradition of mandatory enlistment. But the experiment turned out to be a failure–six out of ten soldiers starting basic training dropped out before concluding their contract.
So the government this year reinstated mandatory service. The 4,000 men and women who start their training this summer will make up for some of the vacancies. But the issue of keeping soldiers on long-term contracts remains.
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WNU Editor: If you want to have a volunteer military .... you will have to pay a decent wage to keep your soldiers and to give them the respect that they are due. A fact that Sweden seems has chosen to forget.