Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

In the Swedish Armed Forces there is a discussion whether the officer education is teaching the right things. The right things are often considered to be practical skills. However, the Swedish Defense University mostly teaches theoretical analyzing and critical approach. This study focuses on how well this approach is received by the Armed Forces, with their view of the officer needing practical skills. It does so through a survey sent to the officers in the ground forces, asking how the newly graduated second lieutenants are perceived by the organization.

The result in this survey shows that this focus on theoretical knowledge has been perceived by the second lieutenant and the officers in the organization have trust in the graduates, both in character and knowledge. However, the lack of practical knowledge is considered dire and the first time after graduation is primarily focused on becoming an instructor which is considered the NCOs specialty. Because of this discrepancy the second lieutenants may have a hard time translating the theoretical knowledge to practical.