Boden Garrison

Boden Garrison
Bodens garnison
Boden, Norrbotten in Sweden

Barracks housing conscripts of Norrbottens regemente, part of Boden Garrison.
Boden Garrison
Coordinates 65°50′N 21°41′E / 65.83°N 21.69°E / 65.83; 21.69
Type Garrison
Site information
Owner Swedish Fortifications Agency
Operator Swedish Armed Forces

Boden Garrison (Swedish: Bodens garnison) is a major garrison in Sweden, located in and around Boden in Norrbotten County. The garrison has during the 20th century been, and still is, the largest garrison in Sweden,[1] consisting of several units of the Swedish Armed Forces as well as Boden Fortress.

History

Before the decision to construct Boden Fortress, there was no permanently stationed military unit in Boden. The main military presence were the four tenement soldiers of Bodens kompani (Boden Company)—part of Norrbottens regemente (Norrbotten Regiment, I 19)—that lived in the locality.[2] To provide men for the fortress, several units were either created in, or moved to the newly built garrison. The first unit garrisoned in Boden was Bodens ingenjörkår, and engineering battalion, in 1905 (even though the official move was not made until in 1908).[3][4] Soon to follow were infantry and artillery units that had wartime stationing in and around the fortress, and other supporting units.

From 1910 and on, the garrison was developed from a pure fortress garrison to a training centre for troops serving in the whole of upper Norrland.[5] More than 60 percent of Norrbottens regemente were to be used for the field army in case of mobilisation right before the First World War.[6] On 1 January 1914, 709 permanently employed soldiers and officers were stationed in Boden, and 4,710 conscripts were trained in the garrison during the year,[7] this in a locality with a population of 4,952.[8]

During the Second World War, the mission of Norrbottens regemente changed from manning the fortress to guarding the northern borders, and the infantry unit supposed to protect the fortress was instead Värmlands regemente that would be transported from southwestern Sweden up to Boden in case of mobilisation. A further move from fortress garrison was taken in 1957 when the armoured unit Norrbottens pansarbataljon was created.[9] The first air unit was stationed in Boden already in 1916, when a small detachment of three aircraft and 29 personnel was moved there from the army air force station in Malmslätt. During the years, further detachments were located in Boden garrison from time to time, but it was not until 1959 that Boden got its own flying unit, through the helicopter unit Arméns helikopterskola.[10]

The massive cutdowns of the Swedish Armed Forces in the 1990s and 2000s saw several old regiments disband, merge, or move, which affected Boden as well. Several independent regiments and battalions stationed in the garrison were reduced in size and merged into Norrbottens regemente. Even after the cutdowns, Boden Garrison retained the position as the largest garrison in Sweden[11] and the main training centre for conscripts.[12] The garrison houses the only remaining artillery regiment of the armed forces and is the only remaining garrison housing more than one Swedish Army regiment.

Conscripts and personnel of Boden Garrison 1920–2007[13][12]
Year Personnel Conscripts
1920 931 5,047
1930 772 6,191
1939 — 5,669
1940 889 —
1950 981 1,810
1960 768 2,407
1970 899 3,250
1980 1,480 2,000
2006/07 — 1,800

Units

Name Designation Type From To Notes
Militärregion Nord MR N Command 2013-01-01
Artilleriregementet A 9 Artillery regiment 2006-01-01
Norrbottensgruppen G 63 Command 2000-07-01
Norrbottens regemente I 19 Armoured regiment 2000-07-01
Norrbottens pansarbataljon Pbat/I 19 Armoured battalion 2000-07-01
Norrlands ingenjörkompani Ingkomp/I 19 Engineer company 2006-01-01 2011-06-21
Norrlands artilleribataljon Artbat/I 19 Artillery battalion 2000-07-01 2005-12-31
Norrlands ingenjörbataljon Ingbat/I 19 Engineer battalion 2000-07-01 2005-12-31
Norrlands signalbataljon Signbat/I 19 Communications regiment 2000-07-01 2005-12-31
Norrlands luftvärnsbataljon Lvbat/I 19 Air defence battalion 2000-07-01 2005-06-30
Norrlands helikopterskvadron 1. hkpskv Helicopter squadron 2000-07-01 2005-06-30
Norrbottens försvarsområde Fo 63 Command 1998-01-01 2000-06-30
Norrlands artilleriregemente A 8 Artillery regiment 1998-01-01 2000-06-30
Norrlands helikopterbataljon 1. hkpbat Helicopter battalion 1998-07-01 2000-06-30
Norrlands ingenjörkår Ing 3 Engineer battalion 1994-07-01 2000-06-30
Norrlands luftvärnskår Lv 7 Air defence battalion 1994-07-01 2000-06-30
Norrbottens regemente och Norrbottensbrigaden MekB 19 Mechanised regiment/brigade 1994-10-01 2000-06-30
Norrlands signalkår S 3 Communications regiment 1994-07-01 2000-06-30
Norrbottens arméflygbataljon AF 1 Helicopter battalion 1980-01-01 1998-06-30
Bodens försvarsområde Fo 63 Command 1994-07-01 1997-12-31
Bodens artilleriregemente A 8 Artillery regiment 1994-07-01 1997-12-31
Luleå luftvärnsregemente Lv 7 Air defence regiment 1992-05-01 1994-06-30
Norrlands signalregemente S 3 Communications regiment 1987-07-01 1994-06-30
Norrbottens regemente med Norrbottens pansarbataljon I 19/P 5 Infantry/armoured battalion 1975-07-01 1994-06-30
Bodens artilleriregemente A 8/Fo 63 Artillery regiment 1975-07-01 1994-06-30
Bodens ingenjörregemente Ing 3 Engineer regiment 1975-07-01 1994-06-30
Norrlands signalbataljon S 3 Communications battalion 1957-04-01 1987-06-30
Arméns helikopterskola HkpS Helicopter school 1959-11-01 1979-12-31
Norrbottens pansarbataljon P 5 Armoured battalion 1957-04-01 1975-06-30
Bodens försvarsområde Fo 63 Command 1942-10-01 1975-06-30
Bodens ingenjörkår Ing 3 Engineer battalion 1937-07-01 1975-06-30
Bodens artilleriregemente A 8 Artillery regiment 1919-09-10 1975-06-30
Norrbottens regemente I 19 Infantry regiment 1907-10-01 1975-06-30
Signalbataljonen i Boden S 3 Communications battalion 1955-12-07 1957-03-31
Signalbataljonen i Boden S 1 B Communications battalion 1954-07-01 1955-12-06
Signalregementets kompani i Boden S 1 B Communications company 1942-12-04 1954-06-30
Norrbottens artillerikår A 5 Artillery battalion 1928-01-01 1951-06-30
Tredje intendenturkompaniet Int 3 Support company 1928-01-01 1950-12-31
Bodens signalkompani S 1 B Communications company 1937-07-01 1942-12-03
Bodens ingenjörkår Ing 4 Engineer battalion 1905-04-01 1937-06-30
Intendenturkompaniet i Boden Int 3 Support company 1915-10-29 1927-12-31
III. division/Norrlands artilleriregemente A 4 B Artillery battalion 1910-04-01 1927-12-31
Fälttelegrafkårens detachement i Boden Ing 4 det Communications detachment 1915-01-01 1925-10-31
Bodens artilleribataljon A 8 B Artillery battalion 1912-11-01 1919-09-09
II. bataljon/Boden-Karlsborgs artilleriregemente A 8 B Artillery battalion 1906-10-24 1912-10-31

Commanders

As the garrison only became an actual organisation in the armed forces in 1975, there was no official garrison commander until then, however the commandants of Boden Fortress had extended powers over the military units stationed in the garrison.[14] The position Commander Boden Garrison (Chef Bodens garnison) has since been occupied by:[15][16]

Name From To
Sven Skeppstedt 1975-07-01 1980-03-31
Reinhold Lahti 1980-04-01 1983-03-31
Thure Wadenholt 1983-04-01 1992-12-31
Göran Honkamaa 1993-01-01 1999-09-30
Ulf Nordlander 1999-10-01 2000-06-30
Per Lodin 2000 2003
Ola Hansson 2003 2004
Frank Westman 2004 2006
Jan Mörtberg 2006 2010
Olof Granander 2010

Citations

References

All sources in (Swedish) unless otherwise noted.

Books
  • Bergmark, Ragnar, ed. (1980). Bodens kommun: från forntid till nutid: utgiven med anledning av beslut rörande Bodens jubileumsfond 1969. Boden: Bodens kommun. 
  • Forslund, Björn (1988). Fästningsstad i liv och utveckling. Boden: Kungl. Bodens artilleriregemente. 
  • Holmberg, Björn (1993). Arméns förband, skolor och staber: en uppslagsbok. Arvidsjaur: Svenskt Militärhistoriskt Bibliotek. ISBN 91--972209-0-6. 
  • Högberg, Leif; Ohlsson, Jan Erik (2006). Militär utflykt!: en vägvisare till militärhistoriska sevärdheter i Sverige. Skurup: Fort & Bunker. ISBN 91-973900-8-9. 
  • Högberg, Leif; Ohlsson, Jan Erik (2008). Fortsättningen!: militär utflykt, en vägvisare till militärhistoriska sevärdheter. Skurup: Fort & Bunker. ISBN 978-91-976075-1-3. 
  • "Supplement Boden". Nordisk familjebok 19 (1st ed.). Stockholm: Expeditionen af Nordisk familjebok. 1896. pp. 955–956. Retrieved 2014-06-07. 
  • "Boden". Nordisk familjebok 3 (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Nordisk familjeboks förlag. 1905. pp. 857–858. Retrieved 2014-06-07. 
  • Nyström, Bror Oscar; Skeppstedt, Sven, eds. (1990). Boden: fästningen, garnisonen, samhället. Boden: Kungl. Bodens artilleriregementes historiekommitté. 
  • Sköld, Christer, ed. (2001). Fo 63: en minnesskrift för, om och av anställda. Boden: Försvarsmakten. ISBN 91-631-0587-X. 
  • Folkmängden inom administrativa områden den 31 december 1914 (PDF). Stockholm: Kungl. Statistiska centralbyrån. 1915. 
  • Strömholm, Fredrik (1933). Boden, fästningen och staden: några minnesblad. Boden. 
  • Törnquist, Leif (2007). Svenska borgar och fästningar: en militärhistorisk reseguide. Stockholm: Medströms. ISBN 978-91-7329-008-1. 
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