She shaved her head and became a soldier

Rebecka Le Moine (MP) is one of only two women in the Riksdag who completed basic military training.

– The three months have given me an incredible amount. I am very happy that I took the chance, she says.

Rebecka Le Moine, 33, volunteered for the military a couple of years after conscription was suspended. In 2013, she joined the engineering regiment in Eksjö.

– I wasn’t worried. I like challenges, and knew it would be challenging both physically and mentally. But I know others were worried, she says, referring to the looks from the officers she met as a recruit.

But Le Moine shaved his head, bit the bullet and three months later was able to call himself a soldier. With her in her luggage, she has experiences she shares with others who have tried life in green clothes, about being forced to solve tasks together despite fatigue and hunger, about putting the group before the self.

– You think you are about to perish, but there are always a few kilometers left in the legs, a few more push-ups to do. There is always an extra force there, she says.

Persistence is something she finds useful as a member.

– It can feel very hopeless and there is rivalry and competition, and many dismiss the issues you are passionate about as hopeless. Then that stubbornness can kick in. Keep pushing, believe in it. Go all in.

After muck, she chose to get involved in the home guard in Linköping alongside her studies, even if the participation faded over time.

Rebecka Le Moine is a little surprised that only one out of four members has done military service, and that she and Karin Enström (M) are the only women who have done the dirty work, according to the Duty and Examination Board. Sara-Lena Bjälkö (SD) has completed a two-week basic soldier training for volunteers.

– I recommend all women to do the training. I would like to give it top marks, says Le Moine.

– But it is important that you don’t end up in identity politics compartments – that you would need a certain education to raise certain issues. The most important thing as a politician is the ability to listen, she says.