Upper Norrland Military District ( sv, Övre Norrlands militärområde, Milo ÖN), originally VI Military District ( sv, VI. militärområdet) was a Swedish

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

, a command of the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

that had operational control over

Upper Norrland Upper Norrland ( sv, Övre Norrland) is a National Area ( sv, Riksområde) of Sweden. The National Areas are a part of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) of Sweden. Geography Övre Norrland is the northernmost region o ...

, for most time of its existence corresponding to the area covered by the counties of

Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the pro ...

and

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 ...

. The headquarters of Milo ÖN were located in Boden.

History

Milo ÖN was created in 1966 along with five other military districts as part of a reorganisation of the administrative divisions of the Swedish Armed Forces. It can be seen as the successor of VI Military District (''VI. militärområdet'') created in 1942, but that did not have the same tasks as Milo ÖN. The military district consisted of the land covered by the above-mentioned counties. In 1993, the number of military districts of Sweden was decreased to three, and as a consequence of that, Milo ÖN was merged with the

Lower Norrland Military District Lower Norrland Military District ( sv, Nedre Norrlands militärområde, Milo NN), originally II Military District ( sv, II. militärområdet) was a Sweden, Swedish Military district (Sweden), military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Force ...

(Milo NN) to create a new military district, the Northern Military District (Milo N).

Units 1989

In peacetime the Upper Norrland Military District consisted of the following units, which were training recruits for wartime units: * Upper Norrland Military District (Milo ÖN), in Boden ** Army units: *** K 4 -

Norrland Dragoon Regiment The Norrland Dragoon Regiment ( sv, Norrlands dragonregemente), also K 4, is a Swedish Army unit specialized in arctic warfare and special operations. Located in the province of Lappland, it was historically a cavalry unit that traces its origin ...

, in

Arvidsjaur Arvidsjaur (; sju, Árviesjávrrie; ) is a locality and the seat of Arvidsjaur Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 4,635 inhabitants in 2010. Arvidsjaur is a center for the European car industry. During the winte ...

, training ''Norrlandsjägare'' ("Norrland Rangers") *** I 19/P 5 - Norrbotten Regiment with Norrbotten Armoured Battalion, in Boden *** I 20/Fo 61 -

Västerbotten Regiment The Västerbotten Regiment ( sv, Västerbottens regemente), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited fro ...

/ Västerbotten Defense District in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Um ...

*** I 22/Fo 66 -

Lapland Ranger Regiment The Lapland Ranger Regiment ( sv, Lapplands jägarregemente), designations I 22, I 22/Fo 66 and I 22/GJ 66, was a Swedish Army light infantry regiment, one of the few new formations raised in the 20th century. The regiment was garrisoned in Lapla ...

/ Kiruna Defense District, in

Kiruna (; se, Giron ; fi, Kiiruna ) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The city was ...

*** A 8/Fo 63 - Boden Artillery Regiment / Boden Defense District, in Boden *** Ing 3 - Boden Engineer Regiment, in Boden *** S 3 - Norrland Signal Regiment, in Boden *** Lv 7 - Luleå Air Defence Regiment, in

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

*** AF 1 - Norrbotten Army Aviation Battalion, at Boden Helicopter Airfield, with Bell 204C and Bell 206A utility helicopters, and one squadron of 10x Bo 105CB3 anti-tank helicopters *** Fo 67 - Kalix Defense District, in

Kalix Kalix ( sv, Kalix; Kalix dialect: ''Kôlis'', , phonemically ; fi, Kainuu; fit, Kainus) is a locality and the seat of the Kalix Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The name Kalix is believed to originate from the Sami word ''Gálásea ...

***

Boden Fortress Boden Fortress ( sv, Bodens fästning) is a modern fortress consisting of several major and minor forts and fortifications surrounding the city of Boden, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden. The fortress was originally intended to stop or delay attack ...

** Air Force units: *** F 21/Se ÖN - Norrbotten Wing / Air Defense Sector Upper Norrland, in Luleå **** 211th Recce Squadron, with SF 37 Viggen photo reconnaissance aircraft and SH 37 Viggen maritime reconnaissance/strike aircraft **** 212th Fighter Squadron, with JA 37 Viggen fighter aircraft **** 213th Fighter Squadron, with JA 37 Viggen fighter aircraft In wartime the Upper Norrland Military District would have activated the following major land units, as well as a host of smaller units: * 15th Division, in Boden ** NB 19 - Norrbotten Brigade, a Type 85

Norrland Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administ ...

Brigade (optimized for arctic/winter warfare) based on the I 19/P 5 - Norrbotten Regiment ** NB 50 - Lapland Brigade, a Type 85 Norrland Brigade based on the I 20 - Västerbotten Regiment ** 8x Norrland Jäger battalions ** 3x Self-propelled Artillery Battalions, with 8x

Bandkanon 1 15,5 cm bandkanon 1 (15,5 cm bkan 1, pronounced "b-kan"), meaning " tracked cannon 1", was a Swedish self-propelled artillery vehicle in use with the Swedish Army from 1967 to 2003, developed by Aktiebolaget Bofors. Its product name was ...

each

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Upper Norrland Military District Staff 1983–1993.

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: "Azur, an erect sword with the district letter (ÖN -

) surrounded by an open chaplet of oak leaves, all or."

Commanding officers

Military commanders

*1942–1946: Nils Rosenblad *1946–1951: Sven Colliander *1951–1963:

Nils Björk Lieutenant General Nils Axel Hjalmar Björk (25 February 1898 – 15 April 1989) was a senior Swedish Army officer. He served as Commanding General of the VI Military District from 1951 to 1963. Early life Björk was born on 25 February 1898 in ...

*1963–1963:

Karl Gustaf Brandberg Lieutenant General Karl Gustaf Brandberg (13 September 1905 – 19 September 1997) was a senior Swedish Army officer. He served as Commanding General of the VII Military District (1963–1966) and Gotland Military Command (1966–1968) and as Ch ...

(acting) *1963–1972: Arne Mohlin *1972–1976:

Nils Personne Lieutenant General Nils Birger Valdemar Personne (29 June 1918 – 26 August 2013) was a Swedish Air Force officer. Personne's senior commands includes Vice Chief of the Air Staff (1961–1966), commander of the 4th Air Group (1966), chief of st ...

*1976–1980: Karl-Gösta Lundmark *1980–1984: Erik G. Bengtsson *1984–1986:

Bengt Gustafsson Bengt Gustafsson may refer to: * Bengt Gustafsson (astronomer) (born 1943), Swedish professor of astronomy *Bengt-Åke Gustafsson Bengt-Åke Gustafsson (born 23 March 1958) is a Swedish ice hockey coach and former ice hockey player. Gustafss ...

*1986–1988: Lars-Erik Englund *1988–1990:

Åke Sagrén Lieutenant General Karl Åke Sagrén (26 January 1935 – 12 December 2022) was a Swedish Army officer. He was Chief of the Army from 1990 to 1994 and Chief of Army Command from 1994 to 1996. Early life Sagrén was born on 26 January 1935 in ...

*1990–1992:

Curt Sjöö Lieutenant General Curt Ove Leonard Sjöö (born 16 March 1937) is a retired Swedish Army officer. Sjöö's senior commands include Chief of the Army Staff (1988–1990) and military commander of the Upper Norrland Military District (1990–1992 ...

*1992–1993: Carl-Ivar Pesula

Chiefs of Staff

*1942–1944: Holger Stenholm *1944–1948: Arne Hallström *1948–1949: Sten Langéen *1949–1954: Carl Gustaf Dahlberg *1954–1958: Bror von Vegesack *1958–1963: Gunnar Henricson *1963–1966: Bele Jansson *1966–1972:

*1972–1974:

Gösta Hökmark Major General Anders Gösta Hökmark (14 June 1920 – 15 April 1993) was a Swedish Army officer. His senior commands include postings as Chief of the Army Staff and the General Staff Corps (1976–1979) and military commander of Bergslagen Mili ...

*1974–1976: Karl-Gösta Lundmark *1976–1977:

Bengt Schuback Vice Admiral Bengt Jacob Schuback (15 May 1928 – 4 December 2015) was a Swedish Navy officer. He was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1978 to 1982 during which time the Soviet submarine ''U 137'' ran aground in Swedish waters. Schuback was lat ...

*1977–1978: Erik Nygren *1978–1980:

Evert Båge Major General Evert Karl Erik Båge (25 August 1925 – 21 January 2021) was a Swedish Air Force officer. Båge served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1980 to 1984 and as head of the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1984 to 1990. Early ...

*1980–1983: Bertil Nordström *1983–1986: Lars-Erik Englund *1986–1988:

*1988–1992: Carl-Johan Rundberg *1992–1993: Tomas Warming

Names, designations and locations

References

Notes

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Web

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Upper Norrland Military District Military districts of Sweden Disbanded units and formations of Sweden Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1993 1942 establishments in Sweden 1993 disestablishments in Sweden Boden Garrison