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I think I'm one of the few guys in here who actually used WWII equipment (sort of) in the early 90's.

I served with the Swedish AAA in 92-93. I was in charge of a radar with two 40 mm Bofors AA-guns attached to it. Well, there had been a few modifications and upgrades on the ammo but the basics were the same. It felt really nice when I first saw it in CMBO. (if you guys at Battlefront are going to work it back into the later releases of CMX2 I can probably dig up some old video tape of us practicing so you can get the sound right this time :D )

Short anecdote. In a live ammo exercise one of the guns suddenly decided to point its barrel from towards the sky down to the ground. I managed to fire a couple of rounds into the ground just a few meters in front of the gun. By doing that I was named the only guy who wouldn't be able to hit the inside of a barn with a 40 mm AA-gun...

Ahh! The memories...

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Smygbantning halverar försvaret / Svenska Dagbladet (article in Swedish)

Hm, any comments from the board's Swedes to this one?

Basically, the Swedish government (in an utter secrecy) is to reduce her defence spending to a half. And this after a drastic cuts already implemented and planned. You would have only 3 battalions of mech inf, no artillery and air force smaller than us!

Considering the fact that there have been mutual defence planning going on between our countries since the mid-90s (both public and mostly in secrecy), I think these plans have even a great potential to hurt the Swedish-Finnish relations.

Say it isn't true!

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I have it on very good authority that the Belgians will soon have an Army of 20,000 men only. The Dutch have actually started selling off equipment that is still being made for them in Germany. That's right, the contract is not even fulfilled and they're already for sale! I suspect the same is true for a lot of other countries. With the Cold War over, and the US and Britain out there "saving the world", it would seem some countries are figuring that they can divert their meager defense spending to shore up social services.

Steve

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Originally posted by mazex:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Battlefront.com:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />So does the swedish AT4 have the "this end tword enemy"

No silly, because Swedes don't have any enemies! Closest they have is the Norwegians ;)

Steve </font>

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Originally posted by Battlefront.com:

I have it on very good authority that the Belgians will soon have an Army of 20,000 men only. The Dutch have actually started selling off equipment that is still being made for them in Germany. That's right, the contract is not even fulfilled and they're already for sale! I suspect the same is true for a lot of other countries. With the Cold War over, and the US and Britain out there "saving the world", it would seem some countries are figuring that they can divert their meager defense spending to shore up social services.

Steve

Actually, the changes the Belgians and Dutch are implemeting, could potentially (and in practise) improve Europe's power provision capabilities.

Whether new ERRF units are going to be under the EU or NATO (or both), those planned and implemented changes are showing the way how to organize Europe's "meager" forces in the near future.

Just that Finland's and Sweden's (geographical) situation is different. We are still facing significant forces (and a potential threat scenario) at our borders (which is not the case in Belgium's or the Netherland's case, give or take the French cheese revolt), and we need a diverse defence doctrine.

The best of both worlds, so to speak, namely a nimble, fully professional and equipped contingent and larger trained reserve force to be called into the service, if the need arises. Just the way we are doing here in Finland.

In Finland's case our defence budget does not tell everything. Just compare our state health spending to the US one, and notice that we get much more service for a lesser money per capita. This is not a political statement, as such, btw.

Similar is the case with our defence spending (less waste, less corporate interests, clever budgeting), not to mention our "will to defend" is still beyond comparison in the modern world (80 per cent or more support the FDF and conscription, a support figure well above the other government institutions).

Well, what's the point, one might ask. Well, Sweden's moral obligation is to be "able enough" to take care of their own borders. With such defence spending, it doesn't look to be possible. As it was during the history, it's once again our role to act as a landmine of Sweden's behalf. Hardly a role or position we would be so interested of doing again.

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Regarding the potential invasion threat from Russia I think that it's getting smaller and smaller every day. I do think that we would be just as bad as you at taking care of our borders if a potential Russian invasion would ever be possible with todays growing Russian dependency on the west...

The Swedish army nowadays is getting cut in half every other year it feels like... At least it has a very high technological level. No one can argue that the swedish tanks, IFV:s, aircraft, artillery, conventional subs are on par with the best there are, even though the budgets are getting thinner and thinner. As I see it the finnish military is also technologically advanced, but still a notch down from sweden!

I do understand the uneasy feeling of having Russia next door but after you selected the old navy F-18 instead of the JAS-39 my feelings of a "mutual defence interest" got a dent I must admit ;)

Got this from the CIA factbook today regarding military budgets:

Finland: $1.8 billion (FY98/99)

Sweden: $5.729 billion (2004)

The finnish numbers are quite old but I guess you haven't raised them that much since 1999 (rather cut them like the rest of the world?).

/Mazex

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Mazex wrote:

Got this from the CIA factbook today regarding military budgets:

Finland: $1.8 billion (FY98/99)

Sweden: $5.729 billion (2004)

The finnish numbers are quite old but I guess you haven't raised them that much since 1999 (rather cut them like the rest of the world?).

The Finnish defence force spending:

For FY2005: 2.139 billion euros + at least one supplementary budget worth of ten to twenty million euros, which equals to about 2.6123 billion $ (1 euro = 1.21$)

NOTES:

1) Coast and Frontier Guard's (and several special police units) figures not included, which are a part of our defence forces in practise (and in a case of war, the Coast and Frontier Guard units would be added to the FDF ranks and payroll)

2) Our military acquisitions are not budgeted per annum basis (delivery price), rather serviceable life constructs/leases and such are been used.

3) several supporting functions (like real estate, health care) and such are either fully or partly oursourced.

4) voluntary national defence figures not included.

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I served 3 years in the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces), as a gunner in the Merkava Mk.2B MBT,

i took part in Anti-terrorist operations during 2 and a half years out of the 3.

The operations i took part in, took place in:

Gaza strip

-----------

Central sector(Kissufim road, Dir-el-balah)

Northern sector(Beit hanun, Beit lahiya)

West bank

----------

Hebron and the villeges in it's area.

Tul karem and the villeges in it's area.

Jenin and the whole sector around it.

I served between the years 2000-2003.

Oren_m

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Originally posted by fytinghellfish:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Abbott:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by M1A1TankCommander:

We still use the M2 50 Cal Heavy MG, which was used since WW1.

Hey TC,

What personal weapons do tankers carry in Iraq? </font>

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Snow Leopard wrote:

What you mean? Are you Finn worry about Norwegians attack Finland?
Not just us, but the Swedes too. You never know about the dang Norwegians.

Last time our intel got grip about them they were experimenting on Killer Attack Whales and not just on any Killer Attack Whales, but specimens with fricking lasers on their heads!

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your intel got that mixed up.

norwegians are not *using* killing whales, the norwegians *are* killing whales.

btw, this year, for the first time, they are also not only clubbing seals to death but they are now also offering it as a holiday hunting package for international tourists.

I am not making this up.

so the swewdish and the finns (especially the finner whales) are probably right to fear the norwegians... I would fear the army of any country that thinks killing seals must be such an enjoyable pastime that holiday travelers from all over the world will flock there in droves for it.

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One year (1991-92) of conscript duty in the Italian Army. Two months of basic training 2nd Btn. / 28th inf. Rgt. "Pavia" in Fano, then paper pusher in uniform in a "Military Precinct" (draft and recruitment) in Modena till the end of my service.

Training was basically a farce: how to salute, march, clean the barracks...

The highest point in my brief "career" was when I fired 2 clips with a WWII vintage M1 Garand and 1 mag. with a Beretta BM59 at the firing range for a grand total of 36 rounds.

Never gave me the chance to put my hands over a MG3... :(

Ah, almost forgetting about the 2 hand grenades, I mean, "slighlty beefed-up firecrackers" they made us toss towards a target made of piled up tires 20m. away...

With the training we got, even a bunch of pygmy tribesmen (with all due respect for the pygmy tribesmen) would have made mincemeat of our Company.

As previuosly stated by the fellow citizen Nicdain, one year of conscript service is (mostly) a wasted year & wasted money.

Now the military service in Italy is based only on volounteers / full professionals.

Regards,

Cassidy

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