Swedish Armed Forces officers. - Photo Credit: Swedint

The Swedish Army is exploring the option of recalling retired officers up to the age of 70 as a way to tackle the looming challenge of a large wave of retirements.

According to a report from SVT, which references a General Staff document outlining the future vision for army recruitment, this move aims to strengthen the military’s personnel capacity.

Karl-Magnus Svensson, head of the General Staff’s personnel department, emphasized that the army would require a greater number of personnel in the following years to meet its demands.

“We are experiencing a historic phase of growth unlike anything seen in decades. It’s not just about numbers – we need to grow qualitatively by attracting specialists with the right skills, who are currently difficult to find and engage,” he explains.

The Armed Forces have the greatest need for officers of all specialties – especially those with expertise in management systems, logistics, and technical fields.

Svensson notes that officer training programs are already full, but over the next five years, a major challenge for the military system will be the mass wave of retirements. One possible solution to this problem is the return of retired officers to active duty.

Under current regulations, Swedish officers can be called back to service up to the age of 47, but the report proposes raising this age limit to 70. This applies to those who have served at least one year as a career officer or reserve officer.

It is worth noting that the maximum age limit for officers in the Swedish Armed Forces during peacetime is 67 years. Therefore, the proposed changes mainly concern creating a mechanism to mobilize experienced personnel in the event of war or other crises.

The army also plans to eliminate the rule that removes conscripts from the register if more than 10 years have passed since their last military training.

Meanwhile, the government has already decided to increase the number of people undergoing basic military training through conscription. According to the latest Ministry of Defence’s decision, at least 10,000 conscripts will be trained by 2030, with the number rising to 12,000 annually thereafter.