COPENHAGEN — Sweden’s left-leaning government on Thursday reintroduced a military draft for both men and women because of what Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist called a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden.
Sweden abolished compulsory military service for men in 2010 because there were enough volunteers to meet the region’s military needs.
The government said “the all-volunteer recruitment hasn’t provided the Armed Forces with enough trained personnel. The re-activating of conscription is needed for military readiness.”
In September, non-NATO-member Sweden stationed permanent troops on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland, which Hultqvist described as sending a signal after Russia’s 2014 annexation of …read more
Source: Time
