This essay aims to show how bureaucracy effects motivation in the Swedish armed forces. The study focuses on cadets which are studying towards becoming officers. They are an interesting group to study as their motivation to do a good job and to stay is crucial to the growth of the Swedish armed forces. Cadets are interviewed about how they are affected, feel and think about bureaucracy. The material collected with the interviews are then analyzed with Max Weber’s theories about bureaucracy to identify if what the respondents are actually talking about can classify as bureaucracy. When existence of bureaucracy is established, the gathered material is analyzed with two theories about motivation, firstly Abraham Maslow´s, secondly Ryan and Deci´s. The result clearly show that bureaucracy exists and that it affects the cadets. The effects of bureaucracy seem to be mostly positive on the cadet’s motivation. For example, the cadets seem to be motivated by the existence of hierarchy and a clear code of conduct. The result must be taken lightly as the positive effects are small. The cadets seem to be more motivated by other factors such as typical intrinsic motivational factors. Example of these factors are patriotism and a bigger cause. The intrinsic factors overshadow the extrinsic positive effects of bureaucracy. The result still holds merit though, as it broadens the understanding of what motivates future officers. Even if the result only shows that bureaucracy increase motivation in the smallest manner, it still is a positive effect, which needs to be taken in to account by policymakers at the Swedish armed forces.