The paratroopers land in Gotland rapeseed

Paratroopers land among the yellow rapeseed fields and combat vehicles plow their way onto the roads outside the summer houses on Gotland.

While the NATO issue is hotter than ever, the Baltops defense exercise is now taking place with Sweden – and NATO-affiliated countries.

After some delay and a long wait, they showed up. From the lookout point in Stenkumla, a few miles south of Visby, Gun von Corswant and her husband could see how two Hercules planes dropped by paratroopers in the fields below them.

The exercise was over in a couple of minutes, the thoughts and reflections about the military presence on Gotland have followed for decades, she says.

– If you are my age (71 years), you have been involved ever since we had a defense here on Gotland. Here we may have always felt a little vulnerable, you understand that the island is attractive.

Prohibited land

She remembers how a Norwegian acquaintance visiting in the 90s was not allowed to accompany him to Fårö when it was classified as a military protection area and was forbidden to stay in for foreign citizens.

Then Sweden’s neutrality was a matter of course, now the discussions on Gotland go in a completely different way:

– I do not really think there is anyone I have talked to here on Gotland who is against a NATO application. Then when you talk to people from the mainland, they think that there are plenty of soldiers here on the island nowadays, she says with a smile.

It’s a bit right though – at least for the moment. Between 5 and 16 June, the large defense exercise Baltops will take place with 16 nations and 7,000 participants. That is why paratroopers are released over the yellow rapeseed fields, that is why the Swedish defense together with the US Navy is staging a landing exercise where it is intended that an opposing side will act as a defense of Gotland.

This at the same time as the importance of Gotland from a strategic perspective in the Baltic Sea is raised again after Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and Sweden and Finland’s recently sought membership in NATO.

The international interest in the exercise is also great. Everything from the Arab television company Al-Jazeera to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun and a Spanish television channel were on Gotland.

Important to practice

In front of all posted journalists, US General John Menoni diplomatically avoids commenting on links between the exercise and Russia’s actions, but notes:

– Regardless of what crisis it is about, it emphasizes the importance of training together, he says.

TT: How big is the difference between the Swedish and American soldiers?

– Except for the different uniforms and accents when talking – they are all the same. They are professional in the same way and tense in the same way before the exercises so I see very few differences.

For the Gotlanders, the big question has always been, how easy or difficult would it be to take the island for Russia?

Not sniffed out

For Magnus Frykvall, regimental commander of P18 on Gotland, it is an extremely hypothetical question, but he contributes with a parable from the world of film:

– Most people may have seen the movie “Save Private Ryan” (about the landing in Normandy). If the beach is defended, you have to take very large losses, he says and continues:

– It is not completely out of the question to do it with the Swedish air force and air defense that we have. If Russia were to attempt a landing, it would require very large military resources to succeed.

For Gun von Corswant, however, there is no doubt about a Swedish NATO membership.

– The world situation has changed radically.

Facts

Baltops

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