Military organizational culture contributes to a nation’s defense, helping to keep alignment with adversaries' threats, and civil society is crucial for preserving the legitimacy of mandatory conscription in democracies. This study aims to broaden the current understanding of how military organizational culture is represented in unit inspection reports by conducting a qualitative content analysis of Pliktrådet´s unit reports. The reports will be analyzed using Leonard Wong and Stephen Gerras theory on military cultural dimensions; to examine how organizational culture is portrayed within two units between 2022 and 2026. The results will thereafter be interpreted and compared to assess how organizational culture between the two units differs, and thus, understand how military organizational culture might be different within the Swedish armed forces.
The results show that the portrayal differs between units, and differences can be interpreted as how organizational culture is formed and maintained. The established unit was found to be lacking in communication between units and within the regiment. This shows the need for a more coherent organizational culture. The newly re-established regiment was found to be more unified within the unit, emphasizing collective values and innovation as means of supporting a favorable organizational culture. Indicating the importance of creating a coherent military organizational culture to support a stringency in the conscription service, as well as cherishing societal values through democratically anchored basic training.