The aim of this study is to examine the reserve force's role in and contribution to the new Swedish expeditionary armed forces. Survey data were obtained from 418 reservists. The results show that reserve officers are well educated and hold high positions in the civil society. According to the reserve officers themselves, the Armed Forces do not ask for their nonmilitary competence. The discontent with this situation is greater among the younger reservists as opposed to the older ones. Four different opinions on the need for the reserve officers are suggested. First, reserve officers are requested to fill vacancies, that is, a volume regulator. Second, the reserve officers are needed because they have unique competences other than military that are used by the armed forces. Third, reserve officers are needed from an economic point of view. Finally, reserve officers contribute to the civil- military relationship. However, when using a framework intended for regular officers, the contribution of the reserve officers' civil professional competence has not been recognized.

Rapporten handlar om Försvarsmaktens strategiska arbete för att öka sin attraktionskraft med fokus på attraktionsstrategier på organisationsnivå. Frågor ställs om vilka strategier Försvarsmakten använder för att öka sin attraktionskraft och hur Försvarsmakten arbetar för att utveckla sitt varumärke. Jämförelser görs av hur väl Försvarsmaktens strategier stämmer med det som kännetecknar en attraktiv organisation av idag. I studien framkommer att Försvarsmaktens varumärke stärks av att det har en hög igenkänningsfaktor i samhället, samtidigt som det är ett stort problem att "Försvarsmakten" kan betyda så många olika saker.

Bristen på stabilitet i organisationen, orsakad av de förändringar som ständigt pågår, bidrar också till otydlighet kring Försvarsmaktens varumärke och identitet. Denna otydlighet gör det svårt för personalen att identifiera sig med organisationen och agera i överensstämmelse med organisationens värden. Så även om informationskanaler finns är det svårt att informera då innehållet till del saknas.

This article illustrates the role of sociology at the Swedish military academies. Finding a suitable balance between theoretical and practical education seems to have been a major thread in Swedish officer education from the eighteenth century to the present day. The emphasis has been on education that is closely linked to military war positions, with extensive elements of combat planning and carrying out military operations. But as tasks have changed, areas such as leadership and organizations have become more important, and the positions of sociological theories and perspective have gradually increased. The belief put forward here is that the demand for sociology will increase for two reasons: the current struggle to make Swedish officer education more university-like and, more important, the need for sociological knowledge that will grow the more the Defense Forces will be engaged in the international arena.

Despite an increasing number of programs that aim to develop or educate leaders, the underlying processes involved in leader development or growth are not well understood. This study was undertaken to discover what factors or processes are involved in leader development for junior military officers, from their own perspective and in the natural context of their career and life experiences. Military officers (N = 51) from 5 different countries were interviewed using a standardized approach, and interview transcripts were analyzed according to the constant comparative method of grounded theory, as elaborated by Glaser and Strauss (1967). Consistently across the 5 countries, the core of the process model of leader development is the social interaction between the young officer and his or her significant others (soldiers, peers, and superiors). In the favorable case, officers end this process feeling secure, being able to flexibly adapt their overt behavior on an underdistanced–overdistanced continuum according to situational demands, and have a firm professional identity.

The aim was to describe the development of a theoretical model for leader evaluation and development, an instrument based on this model, and a strategy for large scale implementation in the Swedish armed forces. The model rests on an interactional person by situation paradigm. It emphasises “developmental leadership”, which is inspired by transformational and functionalistic leadership approaches. The developmental leadership questionnaire (DLQ) was operationalised from the model and refined through structural equation modelling. The model and the DLQ will be used for three purposes: yearly evaluation of all personnel in the Swedish armed forces; yearly planning dialogues between each employee and his or her nearest supervisor; and a tool for leadership training. The implementation strategy includes an initial course in developmental leadership for all colonels. This is followed by the selection and training of local trainers, who, in turn, initiate the comprehensive programme locally. The system should be fully implemented by 2005.