Boden Garrison () 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, 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 Norrbotten Regiment (I 19)—that lived in the locality. 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 Boden Engineer Corps, and engineering battalion, in 1905 (even though the official move was not made until in 1908). 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. More than 60 percent of Norrbotten Regiment were to be used for the field army in case of mobilisation right before the First World War. 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, this in a locality with a population of 4,952.
During the Second World War, the mission of Norrbotten Regiment changed from manning the fortress to guarding the northern borders, and the infantry unit supposed to protect the fortress was instead Värmland Regiment 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 Norrbotten Armoured Battalion was created. 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.
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 Norrbotten Regiment. Even after the cutdowns, Boden Garrison retained the position as the largest garrison in Sweden and the main training centre for conscripts. 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 1920–2007YearPersonnelConscripts19209315,04719307726,1911939—5,6691940889—19509811,81019607682,40719708993,25019801,4802,0002006/07—1,800
Units
NameDesignationTypeFromToNotesNorthern Military RegionMR NCommand2013-01-01Artillery RegimentA 9Artillery regiment2006-01-01NorrbottensgruppenG 63Command2000-07-01Norrbotten RegimentI 19Armoured regiment2000-07-01Norrbotten Armoured BattalionPbat/I 19Armoured battalion2000-07-01Norrland Engineer CompanyIngkomp/I 19Engineer company2006-01-012011-06-21Norrland Artillery BattalionArtbat/I 19Artillery battalion2000-07-012005-12-31Norrland Engineer BattalionIngbat/I 19Engineer battalion2000-07-012005-12-31Norrland Signal BattalionSignbat/I 19Communications regiment2000-07-012005-12-31Norrland Anti-Aircraft BattalionLvbat/I 19Air defence battalion2000-07-012005-06-30Norrlands helikopterskvadron1. hkpskvHelicopter squadron2000-07-012005-06-30Norrbottens försvarsområdeFo 63Command1998-01-012000-06-30Norrland Artillery RegimentA 8Artillery regiment1998-01-012000-06-30Norrlands helikopterbataljon1. hkpbatHelicopter battalion1998-07-012000-06-30Norrland Engineer CorpsIng 3Engineer battalion1994-07-012000-06-30Norrland Anti-Aircraft CorpsLv 7Air defence battalion1994-07-012000-06-30Norrbotten Regiment and Norrbotten BrigadeMekB 19Mechanised regiment/brigade1994-10-012000-06-30Norrland Signal CorpsS 3Communications regiment1994-07-012000-06-30Norrbottens arméflygbataljonAF 1Helicopter battalion1980-01-011998-06-30Bodens försvarsområdeFo 63Command1994-07-011997-12-31Boden Artillery RegimentA 8Artillery regiment1994-07-011997-12-31Luleå Anti-Aircraft RegimentLv 7Air defence regiment1992-05-011994-06-30Norrland Signal RegimentS 3Communications regiment1987-07-011994-06-30Norrbotten Regiment and Norrbotten Armoured BattalionI 19/P 5Infantry/armoured battalion1975-07-011994-06-30Boden Artillery RegimentA 8/Fo 63Artillery regiment1975-07-011994-06-30Boden Engineer RegimentIng 3Engineer regiment1975-07-011994-06-30Norrland Signal BattalionS 3Communications battalion1957-04-011987-06-30Arméns helikopterskolaHkpSHelicopter school1959-11-011979-12-31Norrbotten Armoured BattalionP 5Armoured battalion1957-04-011975-06-30Bodens försvarsområdeFo 63Command1942-10-011975-06-30Boden Engineer CorpsIng 3Engineer battalion1937-07-011975-06-30Boden Artillery RegimentA 8Artillery regiment1919-09-101975-06-30Norrbotten RegimentI 19Infantry regiment1907-10-011975-06-30Signal Battalion in BodenS 3Communications battalion1955-12-071957-03-31Signal Battalion in BodenS 1 BCommunications battalion1954-07-011955-12-06Signal Regiment's Company in BodenS 1 BCommunications company1942-12-041954-06-30Norrbotten Artillery CorpsA 5Artillery battalion1928-01-011951-06-30Tredje intendenturkompanietInt 3Support company1928-01-011950-12-31Boden Signal CompanyS 1 BCommunications company1937-07-011942-12-03Boden Engineer CorpsIng 4Engineer battalion1905-04-011937-06-30Intendenturkompaniet i BodenInt 3Support company1915-10-291927-12-31III. division/Norrland Artillery RegimentA 4 BArtillery battalion1910-04-011927-12-31Field Telegraph Corps' Detachment in BodenIng 4 detCommunications detachment1915-01-011925-10-31Boden Artillery BattalionA 8 BArtillery battalion1912-11-011919-09-092nd Battalion/Boden-Karlsborg Artillery RegimentA 8 BArtillery battalion1906-10-241912-10-31
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. The position Commander Boden Garrison () has since been occupied by:
NameFromToSven Skeppstedt1975-07-011980-03-31Reinhold Lahti1980-04-011983-03-31Thure Wadenholt1983-04-011992-12-31Göran Honkamaa1993-01-011999-09-30Ulf Nordlander1999-10-012000-06-30Per Lodin20002003Ola Hansson20032004Frank Westman20042006Jan Mörtberg20062010Olof Granander2010
Citations
References
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