Head of the Home Guard in Sörmland: "Most likely we will start speaking English"

What NATO membership will mean concretely in practice remains to be seen, but soldiers in the Home Guard can, among other things, count on more exercises with other member countries.

- Initially, operational and strategic defense planning will be carried out together with other NATO countries.

It is too early to say what that planning will result in. After that, I assess that there will be more exercise activities together with other NATO countries, says Mikael Smedin, head of the Södermanland Group.

Exercises across national borders

The Home Guard has already had cross-border exercises.

In Dalarna, for example, the Norwegian Home Guard trained together with the Swedish, and with a NATO membership, such exercises can be more.

- The Home Guard is primarily for the national Swedish defense, but we can certainly have joint exercises with the neighboring countries.

But I do not think it will be further away than that, says Mikael Smedin, head of the Södermanland group.