The Regimental System in Sweden

The Regimental System, though equally old, has not had the same role and importance in Sweden, in part probably because the Swedish army has been a national service force since late 19^th century. The officers and non-commissioned officers (NCO) corps of the regiments might have perceived a strong loyalty to the unit, but the soldiers have not had the same connection. Secondly, the Swedish army has also had strong and regulating central instructions, covering everything from small unit tactics to dress and drill, leaving little leeway for expressions for "tribalism". Thirdly, moving from unit to unit has for a very long time been a condition for a career to reach the higher ranks of the army hierarchy, and in contrast to how the British system works, once you move, you are in all respects considered to belong to your new regiment or corps. The establishment of the General Staff Corps in the late 19^th century also helped remove any sense of regimental belonging among the higher echelons of the army.

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The different use of the term regiment in the various Arms and Services can cause some confusion. Basically, within the infantry, the regiment is the traditional, locally based "cap badge" unit. The field unit, though, is the battalion. Some regiments have more than one battalion, some have both Regular and TA battalions, and some regiments, being the result of amalgamations where none of the older units wanted to give up their traditions, form single companies within a new regiment and battalion. For example the London Regiment, made up of four companies all retaining their regimental name, The London Scottish, The London Irish, Queen’s and London Fusilier Regiments, but in fact forming the A to D companies of the field battalion. The stubborn retention of regimental traditions also means that units converted to new roles often retain their individuality.

Thus, you find Royal Signals units calling themselves Yeomanry and wearing the trappings of cavalry instead of RS regimentals.

Even though one might expect this "tribalism" to be anachronistic, and something the soldiers find troublesome and taking up unnecessary time, the general consensus among the TA soldiers I have spoken too seems to be that it is an important part of their life. One TA lance-corporal even claimed that it was more important to the TA than to the Regular Army, since the social side, and the esprit de corps, that it offered was very much part of the reward of being in the TA.