Är dagens arméofficerare sämre rustade för en väpnad konflikt?

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this Essay is to study whether Swedish Army Officers of today are less prepared for an armed conflict than their older colleagues. The study is a text analysis of Meir Finkel’s theory on Cognitive and Command Flexibility, Swedish military Doctrines and other relevant documents. A research report put together by Swedish Defence Research Agency examining the process of career development was analysed alongside a report from Swedish National Audit Office on building national defence capabilities. Furthermore, a range of semi-structured interviews were conducted to establish the current level of practical battlefield knowledge among mid senior Army Officers. Two practical examples: Bosnia (BA01) and an observation of exercises made by an officer at the Land Warfare Centre were used to compare Cognitive and Command Flexibility of Officers today with those from earlier generations. The research shows that due to less focus on practical battlefield training, Officers of today are less prepared for an armed combat. A contributing factor is the organizational mindset shift from commanding troops to handling a wide range of tasks (such as administration) that shaves off important hours from relevant practical exercises. Furthermore, the study pinpoints several reasons for potential knowledge gaps among the Officers.