Umeå vs Covid-19

In the centre of Umeå is a hidden gem. This green emerald is Sweden’s National CBRN Defence Centre, otherwise know as a SkyddC. SkyddC deals with all the worst elements found on a modern battlefield; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBR…

The Need to Read

Introduction “The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.” Thucydides (c. 460 – c. 400 BC) It is wise to learn from your own mistakes. It is even wiser to learn from the mi…

A Special Interest; Culture, War Fighting Theory, and Design

Foto: shutterstock.com Abstract Vice-Admiral Rosenius’ article highlighted an interesting point regarding the defence debate; the low ceiling. This, to my mind, results from a culture that seeks consensus and becomes defensive if anything threatens the consensus. The first part of this article addresses that problem. The article then went on to ask some […]

The seeds of disaster

The defeat of the French army in 1940 came as a shock. How could such a modern army be beaten by, what should have been, an inferior army so quickly? Brig. Gen. Doughty points out that the French were not stupid (”The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine, 1919-39” by Brig. Gen. […]

Over the Ice

Flexibility is key to success. Photo: Mats Nyström, Försvarsmakten. The most popular tourist attraction in Helsinki is Suomenlinna, the Swedish built fortress of Sveaborg [Sveaborg]. The fortress was built over eight islands and had walls 10 m thick. It was built to protect the harbour of Helsinki from a Russian attack from the sea. Helskinki […]

On territorial defence

by Andrew Wallace Resumé Territorial units such as the proposed territorial battalions and the current military regions have their advantages and disadvantages. This article looks at some of those advantages and disadvantages from  a manoeuvrer warfare perspective. I argue that local territorial knowledge is not as great an advantage as it was in the past. […]