Västernorrland Regiment

The regiment was the only regiment that grew out of the 1812 conscription organization and originated in Västernorrland Conscription Battalion (Västernorrlands beväringsbataljon) which was formed on 19 October 1854. The conscription battalion was until 29 March 1869 subordinate to the commander of Jämtland Ranger Corps (No 23). From 29 March 1869, the battalion became an independent unit and on 1 January 1887, the name Västernorrland Battalion was adopted. On 1 January 1893, the battalion was reorganized into a regiment and adopted the name Västernorrland Regiment (No 29), which in 1902 was adjusted to No 28. In 1914, all order numbers within the Swedish Army were adjusted. For Västernorrland Regiment, this meant that the regiment was assigned the designation I 28. The adjustment of the designation was made to distinguish the regiments in the various braches but also to distinguish the regiments from their possible reserve regiments where a main regiment, for example, had the designation I 11 and the reserve regiment had the designation I 111.[3]

Winter exercise in Jämtland in March 1966 with conscripts from Västernorrland Regiment.

The regiment survived the disbandment in connection with the Defence Act of 1925 but most of the remaining infantry regiments were reduced by one battalion and from 1 January 1928, Västernorrland Regiment came to consist of two infantry battalions. Furthermore, the regiment was assigned with the designation I 21 when the unit designations in the lower series became vacant, by the Kalmar Regiment being disbanded.[4] In May 1931, parts of the regiment were stationed in Ådalen following a request from the county administrative board to assist the police in curbing a labor dispute, a conflict that later came to be known as the Ådalen shootings. In connection with the OLLI reform, which was implemented in the Swedish Armed Forces between 1973 and 1975, A units and B units were formed. The A units were the defence district regiments (försvarsområdesregemente), the regiments that were given responsibility for a defence district and the mobilization and materiel responsibility within the defence district. The B units were pure training units. This meant that Norrland Logistic Corps (Norrlands trängregemente, T 3) which was part of Härnösand Defence District (Härnösands försvarsområde, Fo 23) became a B unit, while Västernorrland Regiment (I 21) on 1 July 1974 was amalgamated with Härnösand Defence District, which was also renamed Västernorrland Defence District, and formed the defence district regiment I 21/Fo 23, an A unit.[5]

On 1 July 1983, the regiment was amalgamated in Sollefteå Army Garrison (Sollefteå armégarnison, SAG), which was a pilot organization, consisting of Västernorrland Regiment (I 21), the defence district staff (Fo 23), Ådal Brigade (Ådalsbrigaden, IB 21), Ångermanland Brigade (Ångermanlandsbrigaden, NB 51) and Norrland Logistic Regiment (Norrlands trängregemente, T 3). On 30 June 1990, the pilot organization was disbanded and from 1 July 1990, Västernorrland Regiment became an independent unit again. However, the defence district staff came to form its own authority.[6] Through Defence Investigation 88, it was clear that four brigade-producing regiments would be disbanded. The background was that the economic problems that arose in the Swedish defence during the 1970s and 1980s remained and were not solved in connection with the Defence Act of 1987. The Carlsson I Cabinet therefore requested a new investigation from the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, General Bengt Gustafsson, the Defence Investigation 88 (FU 88), on the army development. The investigation led to the Riksdag in December 1989 deciding that the army from 1 July 1992 would be reduced by 11 brigades and consist of 18 brigades. The brigades that were disbanded were all organized according to IB 66M, which among other things concerned the Ådal Brigade (Ådalsbrigaden). Furthermore, it was also decided that Norrland Logistic Regiment would be co-located with Västernorrland Regiment and thereby concentrate the Sollefteå Garrison on Regementsvägen in Sollefteå.[7]

Through the Defence Act of 1992, it was decided that the Ångermanland Brigade would be separated from the regiment, this on the basis that the government wanted the Swedish Armed Forces' basic organization to reflect the war organization. The brigade was separated from the regiment on 1 July 1994 and became a cadre-organized war unit within the Northern Military District (Milo N). From the same date, the defence district staff was re-incorporated into the regiment. Prior to the Defence Act of 1996, a new division of defence districts was proposed, which meant that three defence district staffs in the Northern Military District (Milo N) would be disbanded on 31 December 1997. The three staffs proposed for disbandment were in Kalix, Kiruna and Östersund. Regarding the staff in Östersund, it was proposed together with the staff in Sollefteå to form a common defence district.[8] The defence district staff in Östersund was officially disbanded on 31 December 1997. From 1 January 1998, Jämtland Defence District (Jämtlands försvarsområde Fo 22) was integrated into Västernorrland Defence District (Västernorrlands försvarsområde, Fo 23), which adopted the name Västernorrland and Jämtland Defence District (Västernorrlands och Jämtlands försvarsområde, Fo 23). In support of the Home Guard and the voluntary activities within the former Jämtland Defence District, the defence district group Jämtlandsgruppen was formed.

Prior to the Defence Act of 2000, the government proposed in its bill to the Riksdag that the tactical level should be reduced by phasing out division and defence district staffs as well as naval commands and air commands. This is to design an Army Tactical Command, Naval Tactical Command and Air Force Tactical Command which would be co-located with the Joint Operations Command (Operationsledningen, OpL). The proposal meant that all defence district staffs would be disbanded, which included Småland Regiment. Furthermore, the government proposed to the Riksdag a sharp reduction of army units, which meant, among other things, that of 13 brigade units within the army, only six units would remain for the training of army brigade commanders and mechanized battalions. Furthermore, it was considered that they would be relatively evenly geographically distributed across the country. In central Norrland, the government proposed in its bill that the Jämtland Ranger Brigade (Fältjägarbrigaden, NB 5) should remain in favor of the Ångermanland Brigade (NB 21). Sollefteå Garrison was considered to have good infrastructural and training conditions as well as Östersund Garrison. However, the government considered that the conditions for a continued development of the garrison in Östersund were better than in Sollefteå. In Östersund's favor, the other units that were within the garrison, Jämtland Air Force Wing (F 4), the Swedish Army Technical School (Arméns tekniska skola, ATS) and the Motor School (Motorskolan, MS). Relocating the Army Technical School to another location was not considered economically defensible by the government. The schools were considered to be able to provide staff and skills with the help of the fact that a brigade remained in Östersund. Furthermore, the government pointed out that due to the distance, it should be easier for the staff in Sollefteå to move to Östersund than to, for example, Boden, which would reduce a possible loss of competence in the army.[9]

From 1 July 2000, the activities of the regiment passed to the Ångermanland Decommissioning Organisation until the decommissioning was completed by 31 December 2001. The Decommissioning Organisation had the task of disbanding the regiment, but also the other units affected by decommissioning in Västernorrland County - Ångermanland Brigade, Norrland Logistic Corps (Norrlands trängkår) and the Norrland Coast Naval Command (Norrlandskustens marinkommando, MKN). On 30 June 2001, the Ångermanland Decommissioning Organisation ceased to exist when the decommissioning of the units was considered complete.[10][11] On 12 October 2020, the Government presented an agreement to re-establish Västernorrland regiment in Sollefteå from 2022. It is further stated that a re-establishment in Sollefteå is important for the protection of the connections to Trondheim, which among other things affects the United States Marine Corps' pre-placed equipment in Trøndelag. It was also proposed that Jämtland Ranger Corps be attached to Västernorrland Regiment as a training detachment in Östersund. The basic training in Sollefteå shall correspond to two infantry battalions and in Östersund one infantry battalion.[12]

Battalion and regimental commanders from 1869 to 2000.[21] From 1974, the commanding officer was referred to as Defence District Commander, and held the rank of Senior Colonel. The regimental commander was from 1983 to 1990 also the commanding officer of Sollefteå Army Garrison (SAG).[22]

• List of Swedish infantry regiments

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Västernorrland Regiment.

• Erlandsson, Ivar, ed. (1954). Kungl. Västernorrlands regemente 1854-1954: Minnesskrift utg. med anledning av regementets 100-årsjubileum (in Swedish). Sollefteå: Nya Norrland. SELIBR 1468758.
• Hamnström, Carl (1965). Kungl. Västernorrlands regemente: biografiska uppgifter om aktiva officerare och likställda 1854-1964 (in Swedish). Sollefteå: I 21:s officerskårs enskilda kassa. SELIBR 8198538.
• Hamnström, Carl (1983). Kungl. Västernorrlands regemente: biografiska uppgifter om aktiva underofficerare och kompaniofficerare 1869-1981 (in Swedish). [Sollefteå]: [Västernorrlands regementes kamratförening]. SELIBR 2287651.
• Lundbergh, Hans (1961). Kungliga Västernorrlands regemente och dess nya fana (in Swedish). Sollefteå. SELIBR 3201968.
• Nauclér, Einar (1991). Ångermanlandsbrigaden I 51 - IB 51 - NB 51 (in Swedish). Sollefteå: Ångermanlandsbrigaden, Västernorrlands regemente. SELIBR 1232008.
• Wallberg, Evabritta; Berg, Lars Otto, eds. (1977). Försvar och bygd i Ångermanland och Medelpad. Västernorrlands regemente och dess föregångare (in Swedish). [Sollefteå]: [Komm.] ISBN 91-7260-128-0. SELIBR 157425.
• Östergren, Stefan (1977). Ångermanlands, Jämtlands och Medelpads regemente: ett infanteriförband i Norrland under 1600-talet (in Swedish). Östervåla. SELIBR 3202027.