Back home after five weeks in scorching sun under the Hemvärnet's auspices, Gustav Wallton is tired, but happy.
The first thing I did was to eat really good food and spend time with my family. I have missed friends and family when I was away.
He looks back on the training as character-building.
I have become more structured and punctual, I have got a much better sense of time. I solve tasks more easily and handle stress better.
It has been tough, but definitely worth it. It was exciting all the time and I have developed, not just as a soldier but also as a person.
Hemvärnet is to grow
Voluntary military training is a military basic training for Swedish, adult citizens. During five weeks, the participants learn, among other things, weapon handling, combat service and medical care. The background to this summer's training is that Hemvärnet is to grow. After several years when few Swedes have completed military service, the recruitment base is smaller. Now that trend is to be broken.
It's great that we're doing so well with the training and that the participants are so positive, says Brigadier General Mattias Ardin, who is the deputy national Hemvärnet commander.
This year's training was a trial round. The idea is to scale up next year with more training places around the country. The demand was high, over 500 applicants for 158 places.
We hope that this great interest continues when we do it on a larger scale next year, says Mattias Ardin.
Career in the Armed Forces
For Gustav Wallton, military life has given him a taste for more.
I will continue to attend training courses in the coming weeks and winter. First, a security guard training and then a war unit exercise. Then we will go out into the field and protect a protected object.
I want to do military service in the Security Battalion. When I get my rank, I plan to train further to become a group leader and then an instructor. I see a career in the Armed Forces ahead of me, he says.
