In Sweden, the army in schools to prepare young people to defend their country

STOCKHOLM | It is not uncommon in Sweden to see the military in schools, not for security reasons, but to inform children about threats to their country and what they can do to defend it when they are big.

“At school last week, I met a soldier in uniform in the hallways. He had come to meet the 16-year-old students to prepare them,” says Loukas Christodoulou, a teacher in the Swedish capital.

From 16 years old

It’s that all Swedes between the ages of 16 and 70 are required to participate in Total Defence, a doctrine that calls on all citizens to serve their country in one way or another in times of crisis.

Mr. Christodoulou, for example, is a war cook for the National Guard. In the event of a crisis, he must organize mobile kitchens and prepare meals for soldiers and first responders.

For his students, the first contact with the defense is compulsory military service.

Abolished in 2010, it was reinstated in 2017. In the first year, 4,000 18-year-old boys and girls were called up, about 4% of young people born in 1999. 13,000 are now called up annually, but only those who pass the exams admissions stay for nine to twelve months.

Enthusiastic youth

And far from going there reluctantly, young people spontaneously apply, to the point that the army has to refuse them for lack of infrastructure to supervise them.

Adela Olsson, 19, says she jumped for joy when she received her summons: “I was very excited when I received it, I was looking forward to it,” she said.

This might come as a surprise from a young girl with an angel face framed in long blonde braids. But Mr. Christodoulou explains that in Sweden “it’s normal to grow up with the army”.

“Whether on the left or on the right, we consider that the army is all of us, it belongs to the people,” he said.

*This report was produced thanks to a grant from the Fonds québécois en journalisme international.