A Swedish GSS soldier in the Air Force warns that Sweden’s defence buildup is being undermined by a personnel system “designed for turnover, not capability.” Nearly a year after the government inquiry Redo! argued for a new personnel category for experienced group leaders, soldiers, and sailors, no decision has followed. The result, he argues, is that Sweden keeps training soldiers, developing them, and then losing them just as they reach peak operational value.

In the meantime, we continue to do exactly what we have always done: train soldiers, develop them, and then drop them when they reach their highest operational level. The system is designed solely for turnover, not ability. The problem is not ambiguity. The problem is pace. Or rather: the lack of it. (…) It will soon be 12 months since the investigation was published. How many experienced soldiers can we afford to lose? The question is no longer what needs to be done, but why it still hasn’t been done.

Read the entire piece in Officerstidningen.