The Norrbotten Brigade (), or the 19th Arctic Mechanized Brigade (NMekB 19), is a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

mechanized

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, 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 ...

located in the county of

Norrbotten Norrbotten (), sometimes called 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 with the

Norrbotten Regiment The Norrbotten Regiment (), 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 from the province of Norrb ...

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 third generation German main battle tank (MBT). Developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s, the tank entered service in 1979 and replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German army. Various iterat ...

s and

Combat Vehicle 90 The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) (, strf 90 or Stridsfordon 90) is a family of Swedish tracked armoured combat vehicles designed by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), Hägglund & Söner and Bofors during the mid-1980s to early ...

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. In 2021, following the Defence Act of 2020, the 3rd Brigade was disbanded and the equipment was transferred to the Norrbotten Brigade which would be re-established in 2022 with the task of defending the Swedish north.

Organization

As of 2022, the planned wartime organization of the Norrbotten Brigade at full operational capacity is as follows, with full capability expected to be reached by 2028: * Norrbotten Brigade - 19th Arctic Mechanized Brigade (NMekB 19), in Boden ** 19th Brigade Staff *** 19th Brigade Command Company *** 19th Brigade Reconnaissance Company *** 19th Brigade Air Defence Company *** 19th Brigade Signals Company ** 191st Mechanized Battalion ** 192nd Mechanized Battalion ** 193rd Mechanized Battalion ** 19th Brigade Artillery Battalion ** 19th Brigade Engineer Battalion ** 19th Brigade Support Battalion ** 19th Tank Transport Company

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 (), designation Pbat/I 19 or P 5, is a Swedish Army armoured warfare, armoured battalion, one of the few new formations raised in the 20th century. It is still in active service, and is currently garrisoned in Bo ...

(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 (), 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, the regiment was raised on 1 Januar ...

(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.

History

Organization

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

March

Commanders

Attributes

See also

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

Web

Further reading