Nordic Conference for Conscription Councils

Published: October 20

Photos: Amund Søberg Granrud, SOLDATEN and private

Amund Søberg Granrud Medie- og informasjonssoldat

Last week, The Conscription Council of the Organization of Representatives of the Norwegian Conscripts (TVO) hosted the annual conference for the Nordic Conscription Councils in Oslo. The councils from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark participated. During the conference, the representatives discussed their work, challenges and policies, and how the countries can work more closely together. Soldatnytt asked the various representatives how they experience the Nordic cooperation and how they work with conscription and soldier policy in their own countries.

Les på norsk (Read in norwegian)

Forrige uke arrangerte Vernepliktsrådet i Tillitsvalgtordningen i Forsvaret (TVO) nordisk konferanse for vernepliktsrådene fra Sverige, Finland og Danmark i Oslo. Under konferansen har deltakerne hatt samtaler om felles arbeid, utfordringer og politikk, og hvordan landene kan jobbe tettere sammen. Soldatnytt har spurte de ulike representantene om hvordan de opplever det nordiske samarbeidet og hvordan de jobber med verneplikts- og soldatpolitikk i hjemlandene.

Elina Riutta - President of Varusmiesliitto (The board of the Conscript Union of Finland)

Why do you think Nordic cooperation is important, from a military and a conscript representative perspective?

-We can learn a lot from each other through military cooperation. It is important to talk together in this changing geopolitical situation, where we can share thoughts and new ideas with the other countries. We can strengthen cooperation through the Varusmiesliitto. The conscription model we have in the Nordic countries, should be implemented and adapted in European countries that don’t already have it.

How is the conscript council organized in your country?

-It’s very different from here in Norway. Varusmiesliitto, the Conscript Union of Finland has a board, consisting of a president, along with a vice president, plus six board members. We are elected for one year at a time. We are representing the soldiers, but we are more like an independent youth organization, where we cooperate with the defense forces.

What are the most important issues you are currently working on?

-Right now it’s the gender neutral conscription, which is on the political agenda in Finland. We have talked about this topic publically this year, unlike previous years. Mental health amongst conscripts is another topic. It was almost not talked about earlier, but now we are bringing it forward, recognising the need of mental health services for the conscripts. We are also focusing on citizens service. We already have civil service and conscription, but now we are promoting service within protective matters, safety, first aid, and other areas where we need to prepare for crises.

Niklas Sønderhøj, Sofie Lindholm and Sandra Torshauge - Værnepligtsrådet, Danmark

Why do you think Nordic cooperation is important, from a military and a conscript representative perspective?

Sofia: -From a conscript representative point of view, conscriptions in the four countries have some similarities, but they are also very different, especially regarding the structure of the organizations. On the other side, the countries share some of the same political issues regarding the challenges conscripts are often met with, like material, salary, food and housing. It is very educational and inspiring to see how the Norwegian Conscript Council handles these kinds of issues, compared to Sweden, Finland and ourselves.

Niklas: -The organizational structures are perhaps the biggest differences between the countries. Norway has a bigger organization and is more business oriented compared to Denmark and Sweden. Talking together and learning from each other really helps us to get a bigger perspective on how we work as an organization.

Sofia: -It is also interesting to compare our military preparedness with the other countries and see how different we are, probably due to our different geographical locations. The possibility of a conflict seems to be a more integrated part of Norway’s, Sweden’s and Finland’s military awareness and way of thinking about defense. Where the Danish approach is «if the war comes», it seems that the other countries are more focused on «when the war comes». The conscripts should really be part of the discussion about how we relate to these matters.

How is the conscript council organized in your country?

Sofia: -Because the conscription in Denmark is just four months, the time of service for the members of the conscript council are also shorter than in Norway, either 7 or 13 months. Unlike in Norway, we are not employees either, but still conscripted when we sit on the council. This means that we serve at the same level as the people we represent. What is similar to the Norwegian model, is that we were appointed by the Ministry of Defense, which means that we are in position to be part of the discussions and to be critical to the military, even though we are organized as a part of the Danish defense.

Niklas: -Another difference is how our paper, SOLDATEN (The Danish conscripts’ magazine), is organized. As Soldatnytt, it is written by conscripts and for conscripts, but their work is independent from Værnepligtsrådet, meaning that we are not involved in what they publish, the same way you do in Norway. However, we do have two fixed pages in the magazine, where we can communicate to the conscripts.

What are the most important issues you are currently working on?

Sofia: -We want gender neutral conscription, like Norway and Sweden. In Denmark, only men are obliged to serve as conscripts. We see a lot of advantages with both sexes represented, and have been working on this issue since 2015.

Sandra: -We also work a lot with material improvement, such as with backpacks. These are not adapted well enough for the conscripts. There is also a big problem with the wrong sizes of training clothes and a lot of waiting when it comes to the distribution of clothes and other materials.

Niklas: -In Denmark, all conscripts have the same training programme, which is a problem we will work on. The program is not adapted to each individual level, as it should be.

Sandra: -At the time of induction, the conscripts’ physical levels are very different. When they start the training program it will be easier for some and more difficult for others. Because of this, injuries will occur and this affects both the individuals and their further service.

Sigge Lagerqvist and Yasmine Malla - Pliktrådet, Sverige

Why do you think Nordic cooperation is important, from a military and a conscript representative perspective?

Sigge: From a Swedish perspective, it is particularly important because we are working to examine our future development. It is important for us to draw inspiration from the other three countries. Hopefully soon as NATO members, it is also great to talk together about strength and cooperation in NATO, and the possibilities for joint military training and exercises in the future.

Yasmine: I agree, and I would add that with a conscription council perspective we can work more easily and effectively together. We also draw inspiration from the differences between the countries and how we can work to improve things at home in Sweden.

How is the conscript council organized in your country?

Sigge: Pliktrådet has five members. We are elected at Vernepliktkongressen, which is held every spring, after finishing our conscription service. At the congress, candidates have the opportunity to show that they are interested in being part of Pliktrådet. After being interviewed and elected, you can serve for one year. Two members can be re-elected for one more year. We are not organized as part of the armed forces, and do not wear uniforms or have any ranks. But of course we work closely with the armed forces and also receive funding, housing, food and travel from them.

Yasmine: When we start our terms in Pliktrådet we have up to 20 weeks to exchange information between the old council and the new one. During this period, the new council has to organize itself and distribute areas of responsibility.

Sigge: We have no boss, so we have to distribute responsibilities and tasks between ourselves, such as POC for international relations, economy and compensation politics.

What are the most important issues you are currently working on?

Sigge: There are four main issues we are currently working on. The first is organizational development and higher compensation for Swedish conscripts.

Yasmine: In addition, we focus on improving the standards of personal equipment and material for the soldiers, which is currently a problem in Sweden. The latest issues include education, selection and information.

SOLDATNYTT