More reserve officers need to be trained to staff Sweden's wartime organization, the Swedish Armed Forces state. In FSN Perspektiv, students and representatives from Sweden's academic officers' society present three proposals to make it easier to combine reserve officer training with civilian studies. 

Reserve officers play a crucial role in Sweden's wartime organization, and the number of reserve officers needs to increase.  

The Swedish Armed Forces, through Colonel Fredrik Zetterberg, until recently the head of the Military Academy Halmstad, have investigated the reserve officer issue. In his comprehensive Report 3 in A Developed Reserve Officer System for the Future published last December, he argues that no fewer than 148 reserve officers need to be trained annually from 2024 until 2035 to reach the target of 5,000 reserve officers in the wartime organization by 2035.  

According to the Swedish Armed Forces' 2023 annual report, reserve officer training had 49 students in 2022-2023, and 49 people started the reserve officer training (ROU) in 2023. This means a very significant expansion of ROU is needed to reach the goal; it essentially involves a tripling compared to previous years. 

At the same time, there is broad political consensus on the growth of the defense, and voices from all corners of society emphasize the importance of total defense. 

With this in mind, recruitment should be moving full speed ahead. All unnecessary obstacles for those who want to become reserve officers should reasonably be removed. 

However, we believe there are significant problems in the recruitment process for ROU. Despite some of these being recurring, they continue to be repeated. Here, we choose to address three of them and propose immediate measures.  

Firstly: Advance the admission notifications 

This year, the cadets for ROU started on June 17, after receiving their admission notifications in mid-May. This means that it is only about a month before the training begins that the individual receives a final notification about whether they can start it. This has been the case for several years. 

This places very high demands on the cadet. Should they refrain from applying for summer jobs and risk being without income? How should the person plan their housing, with a potential partner, with their equipment?  

A person concerned with order might then ask: Why not send out the admission notification in February or March instead?  

The answer is that the admission process for ROU is largely integrated with the specialist officer training (SOU). 

The Swedish Armed Forces must address this as soon as possible, preferably by separating the ROU and SOU processes or by providing ROU applicants with a fast track once applications are submitted. 

Secondly: Reinstate the summer training 

Besides ROU, there is also AROU – Adapted Reserve Officer Training. ROU leads to a commission as second lieutenant, AROU to a commission as sergeant, i.e., specialist officer in the reserve. 

Until 2023, AROU had been conducted over two summer terms for several years, which was a great advantage for those studying civilian courses. The individual did not even need to take a study break. 

After the summer of 2023, the Swedish Armed Forces chose to replace the summer training with a semester training. The intake for 2024 takes place in August, and the cadets are trained throughout the autumn. This setup is naturally very disadvantageous for those studying. 

In our associations, there are dozens of people who want to become reserve officers but choose not to due to the current training setup. Our appeal to the Swedish Armed Forces is to reintroduce the training in 2025.  

Thirdly: Right to study leave 

Completing ROU does not grant the right to leave from civilian studies.

This means that the cadet must apply for deferment if they are admitted to a civilian education, which is very common. The same applies to those wishing to take a break from their civilian studies, for example, between a bachelor's and a master's degree.

Many educational institutions grant study leave, but there are exceptions. For example, one of the cadets who attended ROU 2023-2024 was denied their application for deferment by the Royal Institute of Technology. Only after much arguing in several emails to KTH was the application granted. The cadet seriously considered discontinuing ROU because of this.

The uncertainty risks causing unnecessary concern both among current cadets and potential applicants. There is a significant difference between having the right to leave or deferment and often actually having an application granted.

Lawmakers should be able to make the necessary decisions on this issue immediately.

In conclusion 

Common to the academic officers' societies is that they gather students with a military background at the country's ...