The physical ability among the Armed Forces’ recruits has deteriorated – and now measures are required throughout society to break the trend. This is what officer LO Nilsson writes on Dagens Nyheter’s debate page.
Nilsson is responsible for the training area physical combat value at the Swedish Armed Forces.
“The personnel of the armed forces are a mirror image of society, and the decay has increased,” he writes in DN.
According to him, the situation has “clearly deteriorated” over the past ten years. He points to the recent government investigation “Every movement counts”, which shows a downward trend among the young population in particular.
“It raises the question of how long the Swedes can and are willing to assist in crisis and war,” he writes, adding that physics is also crucial in civil defense.
LO Nilsson wants the Swedish Armed Forces to increase the time for physical training and to start work to inform civil society about what is required, together with the Norwegian Agency for Community Security and Preparedness (MSB).
He also proposes, among other things, more resources at school for physical activity and a movement grant instead of a health care grant.
Nilsson describes the citizens as the country’s most important resource.
“Then we cannot allow our bodies to decay,” he writes.