The Home Guard – National Security Forces () is a military reserve force of the Swedish Armed Forces. It was formally established on May 29, 1940, during World War II upon popular demand. While originally composed of former militia groups, today it comprises half of the Swedish Army, thus constituting the basis of the territorial defence of Sweden.
The Home Guard consists mainly of local rapid response units, numbering 17,000 of the 22,000 total Home Guard strength, organised in 40 battalions, with 23 associated auxiliary defence organisations. Most soldiers maintain a civilian job while serving the army part-time. Rapid response units were formed in the early 2000s in parallel to the Swedish government's abolishment of conscription to the Swedish Armed Forces; small-scale conscription has since been reintroduced.
The Chief of Home Guard is the commanding officer of the Home Guard, representing 40,000 present and veteran soldiers, reporting directly to the Chief of Defence.
History
The establishment of the Home Guard was passed into law by the Riksdag on May 29, 1940, after the beginning of World War II, however, units had already been formed by the military before this. Home Guard units were groups of usually eight to 15 men that were to serve as defence units in case of war, located in towns and in both private and state-owned factories, throughout all of Sweden. Members of these small units usually consisted of former professional military men who were equipped with rifles, machine guns, ammunition, medicine, uniforms, and had the option of buying additional materials such as skis, sweaters and marching boots. An additional group, called the Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization, helped with additional tasks that the Home Unit was unable to perform themselves. The Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization helped provide the home unit with additional items such as socks, scarves and gloves as well as performing all administrative work that the unit could not afford to do themselves. In case of war, and in case the Home Guard was unable to utilize local hospitals, the Swedish Red Cross was prepared to set up first aid stations for its use.
Organisation
The Home Guard with the national security forces are part of the Swedish Armed Forces' mission-based organization. The Home Guard is a unit and constitutes the basis for the protection of Sweden. It has the task of operating over the entire conflict scale, from societal support during great strains in peacetime to armed combat in times of war.
The units of the Home Guard have a response capability that is measured in hours, as opposed to days or weeks. The personnel is made up of locally recruited volunteers and consists largely of experienced soldiers and officers with a background in mission-based units.
When the Armed Forces are called in to help with forest fires, flooding or missing person searches, it often falls to Home Guard units to support the police and Rescue Services. Territorial surveillance, base security, escort duties, transport protection, target identification and artillery spotting are other typical Home Guard duties.
In addition to personnel who have completed their national service or Basic Military Training, the Home Guard includes a large proportion of specialists, for example, paramedics, motorcycle orderlies and dog handlers, that are recruited and trained by voluntary defence organizations.
Territorial organisation Sweden is divided into four military regions:
Northern Military Region (MR N) comprises Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland and Västernorrland counties. The regional command is located at Norrbotten Regiment (I 19) headquarters in Boden. Central Military Region (MR M) comprises Stockholm and Gotland, Södermanland, Uppsala, Västmanland, Dalarna and Gävleborg counties. The regional command is located at the Life Guards (LG) headquarters in Stockholm. Western Military Region (MR V) comprises Västra Götaland, Halland, Örebro and Värmland counties. The regional command is located at Skaraborg Regiment (P 4) headquarters in Skövde. Southern Military Region (MR S) comprises Skåne, Blekinge, Kronoberg, Jönköping, Kalmar and Östergötland counties. The regional command is located at South Scanian Regiment (P 7) headquarters Revinge.
Home Guard battalions are supported for administration, training and logistics by 22 Training Groups (Swedish Utbildningsgrupp). The Training Groups are for the most parts the descendants of disbanded regiments and most Home Guard battalions carry the colours and traditions of its antecedent regiment, e.g. the 17. Dalabataljonen which carries the colours and traditions of the Dalarna Regiment (raised 1628 and disbanded in 2000). Usually, each Training Group supports 1-2 battalions but some have four battalions. The Training Groups in turn belong to a regular regiment. Uniform guidelines and materials for courses are determined centrally by the National Home Guard Combat School.
Units As of 2012, the Home Guard consists of 22,000 soldiers (down from 42,000 in 2001) organized into 40 light infantry battalions (down from 69 in 2001) of 300-700 personnel.
In 2001, the Rapid Response units numbered around 5,000 soldiers of the total of 42,000. Rapid Response units have more combat tasks compared to the rest of the Home Guard, including escort duties. Some battalions located near the coast also have marine companies equipped with Combat Boat 90.
As of 2014, the majority of the force, 17,000 out of 22,000 soldiers will be in Rapid Response units. The decrease in number of troops comes with an equal increase in quality and modern equipment.
The designation "hvbat" is an abbreviation of "Hemvärnsbataljon", or "Home Guard Battalion".
Designation Unit (Swedish) Unit (English) Training Group Comments10. hvbat Lapplandsjägarbataljonen Lapland Rifles Battalion Lapplandsjägargruppen Arctic, includes an aircraft troop11. hvbat Gränsjägarbataljonen Border Rifles Battalion Lapplandsjägargruppen Arctic, includes an aircraft troop and a boat platoon12. hvbat Norrbottensbataljonen North Bothnia Battalion Norrbottensgruppen Arctic, includes an aircraft troop, a pioneer platoon and a logistics (fuel and ammunition) platoon13. hvbat Västerbottensbataljonen West Bothnia Battalion Västerbottensgruppen Arctic, includes an aircraft troop, a logistics (fuel and ammunition) platoon, a boat platoon and a CBRN platoon14. hvbat Fältjägarbataljonen Light Infantry Battalion Fältjägargruppen Arctic, includes a logistics (fuel and ammunition) platoon and a reconnaissance company 15. hvbat Ångermanlandsbataljonen Ångermanland Battalion Västernorrlandsgruppen Arctic, includes a logistics (fuel and ammunition) platoon, a traffic platoon and a boat platoon16. hvbat Medelpadsbataljonen Medelpad Home Guard Battalion Västernorrlandsgruppen Arctic, includes an air troop, a logistics (fuel and ammunition) platoon and a boat platoon17. hvbat Dalabataljonen Dalarna Home Guard Battalion Dalregementsgruppen Arctic, includes an aircraft troop and a mortar platoon18. hvbat Gävleborgsbataljonen Gävleborg Battalion Gävleborgsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a boat platoon19. hvbat Värmlandsbataljonen Värmland Home Guard Battalion Örebro och Värmlandsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop 20. hvbat Sannahedsbataljonen Sannahed Home Guard Battalion Örebro och Värmlandsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a pioneer platoon21. hvbat Upplandsbataljonen Uppland Home Guard Battalion Uppland/Västmanlandsgruppen Includes a reconnaissance company 22. hvbat Västmanlandsbataljonen Västmanland Home Guard Battalion Uppland/Västmanlandsgruppen 23. hvbat Attundalandsbataljonen Attundaland Home Guard Battalion Livgardesgruppen Includes a reconnaissance company24. hvbat Stockholmsbataljonen Stockholm Home Guard Battalion Livgardesgruppen Includes a traffic platoon 25. hvbat Telgehusbataljonen Telgehus Home Guard Battalion Livgardesgruppen Includes an aircraft troop26. hvbat Ulvsundabataljonen Ulvsunda Home Guard Battalion Livgardesgruppen 27. hvbat Södermanlandsbataljonen Södermanland Home Guard Battalion Södermanlandsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a boat platoon 28. hvbat Roslagsbataljonen Roslagen Home Guard Battalion Södertörnsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a boat platoon29. hvbat Södertörnsbataljonen Södertörn Home Guard Battalion Södertörnsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a CBRN platoon and a boat company30. hvbat Första livgrenadjärbataljonen 1st Life Grenadier Battalion Livgrenadjärgruppen 31. hvbat Andra livgrenadjärbataljonen 2nd Life Grenadier Battalion Livgrenadjärgruppen Includes 2 boat platoons32. hvbat Gotlandsbataljonen Gotland Battalion Gotlandsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a boat platoon33. hvbat Norra Smålandsbataljonen North Småland Battalion Norra Smålandsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a pioneer platoon34. hvbat Kalmarbataljonen Kalmar Battalion Kalmar och Kronobergsgruppen 35. hvbat Kronobergsbataljonen Kronoberg Battalion Kalmar och Kronobergsgruppen Includes a reconnaissance company 36. hvbat Blekinge västra bataljon West Blekinge Battalion Blekingegruppen Includes an aircraft troop37. hvbat Blekinge östra bataljon East Blekinge Battalion Blekingegruppen Includes a boat company38. hvbat Kinnebataljonen Kinne Home Guard Battalion Skaraborgsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a traffic platoon39. hvbat Kåkindbataljonen Kåkind Home Guard Battalion Skaraborgsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop40. hvbat Bohusbataljonen Bohusläns Home Guard Battalion Bohusdalgruppen Includes an aircraft troop and a boat company41. hvbat Göteborgs södra bataljon South Gothenburg Home Guard Battalion Elfsborgsgruppen Includes a reconnaissance company with an aircraft troop.42. hvbat Göteborgs norra bataljon North Gothenburg Home Guard Battalion Elfsborgsgruppen Includes a CBRN platoon43. hvbat Göteborgs skärgårds bataljon Gothenburg Archipelago Battalion Elfsborgsgruppen Includes a boat company44. hvbat Älvsborgsbataljonen Älvsborg Home Guard Battalion Elfsborgsgruppen 45. hvbat Hallandsbataljonen Halland Battalion Hallandsgruppen Includes an aircraft troop46. hvbat Södra skånska bataljonen South Scania Battalion Skånska gruppen Includes a CBRN platoon47. hvbat Malmöhusbataljonen Malmöhus Battalion Skånska gruppen Includes a traffic platoon48. hvbat Skånska dragonbataljonen Scania Dragoon Battalion Skånska gruppen Includes a reconnaissance company49. hvbat Norra skånska bataljonen North Scania Battalion Skånska gruppen Includes a mortar platoon
Swedish Home Guard organization graphic
Doctrine of Defence There are two main ways to form a doctrine for defence: static and dynamic.
A static defence could for example be stationing coastal missile batteries on Gotland. No warning is needed, the equipment and staff is already in place and can hold the area. A dynamic defence could for example be stationing a coastal missile battery in conjunction with an air transport and airborne troops ready to be transported to any area if warning is given. The current doctrine MSD 16 includes elements of both strategies in synergy.
According to MSD 16 the National Security Forces are to have an increased integration with the Swedish Defence. National Defensive Force operators are stationed in the area where they live. This means they know the terrain and can more easily spot unusual activity. They will also be the first on site, with the role of detecting, reporting and if possible denying an intruder freedom of action. As first responders to any given region, they are also required to support the mobilisation of the specialised, dynamic defence.