Civil duty is the civilian equivalent of military service. The purpose is to ensure that vital parts of society function even during heightened alert or war.
However, for many years, no civil duty personnel were trained, since the then-ruling alliance government scrapped the training in 2008.
The government has now revived civil duty and last year, around 300 people were trained for civil duty within the rescue services. This mainly concerned part-time firefighters who received rapid training.
Civil duty after conscription
In just a few years, we will be approaching 3,000. In addition, we have moved on to do roughly the same thing regarding power supply, says Bohlin in his speech at Folk och försvar in Sälen.
But more is needed – and the government is now opening up for the possibility of young people being called up for civil duty within the rescue services after conscription. This involves a long basic training instead of today's shorter supplementary training.
This is a system we haven't had since it was discontinued 15 years ago, says Bohlin.
In the past, civil duty personnel were often identified through conscription. Then, one was selected to serve either in the military or civilian defense.
It is unclear how many may be called up for civil duty in the future.
We will return to that when we have the complete needs analysis, says Bohlin.
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) is to report on the assignment by the end of 2025.
"A greater task"
The MSB is also to prepare for total defense duty personnel to be trained with civil duty to take care of the large population shelters.
This could involve identifying people who already have certain specific skills, such as property managers, and then receiving supplementary training, says Bohlin.
He emphasizes in his speech that the defense of Sweden is not a task for a few, but for everyone.
Defending Sweden's interests is a greater task than our own self-realization. Those who have not yet considered the question, what can I do for my country, should do so.
