The Norrbotten Brigade ( sv, Norrbottensbrigaden), also NMekB 19, is a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

mechanized

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

located in the province of

Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swede ...

, active since 2022. It was previously active from 1949 to 2000. The brigade is located at

Boden Garrison Boden Garrison ( sv, Bodens garnison) is a major garrison in Sweden, located in and around Boden, Sweden, Boden in Norrbotten County. The garrison has during the 20th century been, and still is, the largest garrison in Sweden, consisting of several ...

Norrbotten Regiment The Norrbotten Regiment ( sv, Norrbottens regemente), designation I 19, is a Swedish Army arctic armoured, light infantry and commando regiment that traces its origins back to the 19th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited fr ...

(I 19) in Boden.

History

Norrbotten Brigade was originally an infantry brigade which in 1964 became the second of a total of five brigades, which was organised as an arctic brigade. In 1994, the brigade, along with the regiment (I 19/P 5) formed the Norrland Mechanised Brigade (MekB 19). The brigade consisted of two tank battalions equipped with

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...

s and

Combat Vehicle 90 The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90; Sw. ''Stridsfordon'' 90, Strf90) is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed by Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (''Försvarets Materielverk'', FMV), Hägglunds and Bofors during the mid-1980s to ear ...

s, and two mechanised battalions equipped with CV90. The unit was disbanded as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in the Defence Act of 2000. The unit was re-established following the .

Heraldry and traditions

The Norrbotten Regiment and Norrbotten Brigade inherited heraldry and traditions from the

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Norrbotten Regiment and Norrbotten Brigade (MekB 19) 1994–2000 was also used by the

Norrbotten Armoured Battalion The Norrbotten Armoured Battalion ( sv, Norrbottens pansarbataljon), designation Pbat/I 19 or P 5, is a Swedish Army armoured battalion, one of the few new formations raised in the 20th century. It is still in active service, and is currently gar ...

(P 5) 1957–1975. Blazon: "Azure, powdered with estoiles or, the provincial badge of Västerbotten, a reindeer courant argent, armed and langued gules. The shield surmounted two arms in fess, embowed and vambraced, the hands holding swords in saltire, or".

March

By the end of the 1800s, Norrbotten Regiment adopted the march "" (Sundgrén). In 1916 it adopted the march "" which was used from 1916 to 1927 together with

Karlskrona Grenadier Regiment The Karlskrona Grenadier Regiment ( sv, Karlskrona grenadjärregemente), designation I 7, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that operated from 1902 to 1927. The regiment was based in Gräsvik in Karlskrona. History By the 1901 Defense Reform, ...

(I 7). Karlskrona Grenadier Regiment used the march as an inheritance from the Småland Hussar Regiment (', K 4). After the regiment was amalgamated into a brigade in 1994, the brigade came to use the march. From 2000 it is used again by the regiment.

Commanding officers

Brigade commander from 1949 to 2000 and since 2022. *1949–1993: ? *1993–1994:

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Bengt Jerkland *1994–1999: Colonel Lars-Gunnar Nilsson *1999–2000: Colonel Per Lodin *2000–2022: – *2022–2023: Colonel Lars O Jonsson *2023–present: Colonel Gustaf Dufberg

History

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

March

Commanding officers

Names, designations and locations

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Further reading