The picturesque town being turned into a strategic military hub as Sweden joins NATO
Sweden on Thursday formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality. In the period preceding the official ceremony, the Nordic nation was already busy reordering its defences – transforming the central town of Ostersund into a military hub.
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President Joe Biden congratulated Sweden on its admission and said it was a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin's intervention in Ukraine had united, rather than divided, the alliance.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was a guest of honor Thursday evening at Biden's State of the Union address to Congress, where the president welcomed him to “the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen.”
For one Swedish town, this meant a profound change.
An important junction by rail and road, Ostersund is a picturesque old garrison town on the shores of the idyllic Storsjon Lake. Just over the other side of the mountains is Trondheim, a strategic harbour in Norway.
"Trondheim's ice-free port is a gateway to the Nordic region for NATO," explains Erik Essen, Ostersund’s military coordinator – a recently created post.
"It houses huge NATO warehouses, the US Navy and the headquarters of the Norwegian Air Force."
Strategic role
Sweden is preparing to become a central logistics link in the defence of NATO's north-eastern front, having applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
While it’s not worried about a direct strike, it can’t risk the chance that Moscow might one day test the strength of NATO in the neighbourhood.
"Five years ago, no one would have believed that Sweden could be drawn into a war,” Ostersund mayor Niklas Daoson told RFI.
"Now it’s become a possibility … So we need to use the time we have left to rebuild a credible defence – both for the country and as a NATO member."
The biggest challenge is to rapidly modernise the country’s infrastructure to allow for the transport of tanks and hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the Arctic, Finland and the Baltic states.
Sweden earlier signed a deal giving the US access to 17 of its military bases. The first agreement of its kind between the two countries, it came as Sweden waited a year and half for Turkey and Hungary to ratify its accession to NATO.
Peaceful history
While Swedes have historically viewed themselves as a peaceful nation, some 60 percent threw their support behind the choice to join NATO.
The move marks a major shift in national identity, with Sweden this year also restarting compulsory civic conscription – a type of national service that ended after the Cold War.
The country reintroduced military conscription in 2018 after an eight-year pause, and is stepping up the numbers of men and women called up for duty.
According to Bloomberg, Sweden wants to almost double the number of conscripts to 10,000 by 2030 – including a small percentage who will be called up for military service whether or not they agree.
Meanwhile membership of NATO also means increased defence spending. A 2024 defence law increases spending by 27 billion kronor (€2.4 billion). Of that amount, some €58 million will be spent on NATO.
Now that all NATO allies have ratified Sweden’s membership, a flag-raising ceremony is expected at its headquarters in Brussels as early as this week.
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