Sweden: Eight conscripts at the Interpreter School of the Swedish Armed Forces Intelligence and Security Centre suffered cold injuries during a winter exercise in Arvidsjaur after training reportedly was not adapted to extreme temperatures. Incident reports say soldiers were sent straight into the field after a 13-hour bus ride, kept outside for up to 12 hours in temperatures as low as minus 32 degrees, and at times denied adequate protective gear. A professional officer told Officerstidningen that the episode reflects a wider culture of silence at the unit, where warnings about poor planning, lack of experienced officers, and unsafe training conditions have long been ignored. The officer warned that unless the problems are addressed, someone could eventually be seriously injured or killed.

“I am convinced that the instructors did the best they could, but they were too inexperienced and had not been given the knowledge needed to carry out the tasks they had been ordered to perform. The more experienced person in the exercise leadership on site in Arvidsjaur did not have sufficient resources in the form of time to plan the exercise fully and was tied up indoors for much of the time planning the next phase of the training. For a long time, several members of staff have pointed out problems in the training, above all the lack of experienced officers and the negative effect this has on operations. None of this has been listened to.”

“I feel that suggestions for improvement are met with strong skepticism and hostility. That is how things work here. Anyone who raises problems is portrayed as the problem. Now the culture of silence has affected individual conscripts. The organization is not taking the operation seriously and does not have sufficient resources, and my greatest fear of all is that someone will eventually pay the ultimate price.”

Read the entire story in Officerstidningen

This is all part of a large increase in frostbite in the Armed Forces this winter. In another piece Officerstidningen reports that during the first two months of this year, 134 incident reports concerning cold injuries were filed in the Swedish Armed Forces.

The vast majority of those affected are conscripts and trainees. Joakim Giöbel, head of the Swedish Armed Forces’ ground safety division, says that inexperienced officers and the pressure the organization is currently under may have contributed to the injuries

“We have many young officers out there, and as I interpret it, they carried out the exercises assigned to them without regard for the weather conditions. They simply did not manage risk the way they should have. I am very grateful for all our younger colleagues, but perhaps things move a bit too fast sometimes.”

Another shortcoming he has noted is the lack of adequate training.

“There is a course called cold weather training that everyone who goes north to exercise is supposed to complete, otherwise they are not allowed to take part. But in the incident reports, we see that some units did not complete the cold weather training,” says Joakim Giöbel.

The carelessly implemented and fundamentally senseless conscription model in Sweden is proving increasingly dangerous.