Nils Ivar (''Nils-Ivar'') Carlborg (29 March 1913 – 21 September 2005) was 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 ...

officer. He started the

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

training in Sweden and founded the Swedish Army Paratroop School of which he was its first commander (1952–1953). He later served as head of the

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg (, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urb ...

(1964–1969) and as commander of Stockholm Defence District (1969–1973) and as the Commandant of Stockholm (1969–1973).

Early life

Carlborg was born on 29 March 1913 in Småland Artillery Regiment Parish (''Smålands artilleriregementes församling''),

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

, Sweden, the son of lieutenant colonel Nils Gustaf Carlborg och Elisabeth Hugoson. Carlborg passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central southern Sweden. Skövde is situated around 150 k ...

in 1931.

Career

Carlborg graduated from

in 1934 and was commissioned as an officer the same year and was assigned to

Svea Artillery Regiment The Svea Artillery Regiment (), designation A 1, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Svealand, and it was also gar ...

as a second lieutenant, where he was promoted to ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...

'' in 1936, and to lieutenant in 1938 and to captain in 1942. He attended the General Artillery Course at the Artillery and Engineering College from 1936 to 1938 and studied at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1940 to 1942. He entered the General Staff Corps in 1944 and served for the next few years in staffs, among other things in the Army Inspectorate (''Arméinspektionen'') in the Army Staff where in 1948 he was given the task of writing regulations for combat against

airborne forces Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers. The main ...

. To gain personal insight into an attacker's possibilities and limitations, he underwent parachute training in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The experience from this led him to propose that Swedish airborne ranger units be established, as the costs should be able to be reduced to a reasonable level. The proposal was heard and a trial course in parachute service was held under his leadership in 1951. This in turn led to the formation of the Swedish Army Paratroop School in 1952. Carlborg was promoted to major in

Boden Artillery Regiment Boden Artillery Regiment (, A 8) is an artillery unit within the Swedish Army that operated in various forms from 1919 to 2004 and again from 2022. It is based in Boden Garrison in Boden, Sweden, Boden. History The unit was raised on 10 Septembe ...

this year and was the school's first head from 1952 to 1953. He was transferred to Småland Artillery Regiment in 1954 and served in the Army Staff from 1955. In 1957 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at Småland Artillery Regiment and during the same year he served as acting regimental commander of the regiment, after which he served in the regiment until 1960. In 1960 he was promoted to colonel in Småland Artillery Regiment, whereupon he served as Defence District Commander of Kalmar Defence District (''Kalmar försvarsområde'', Fo 18) and of Växjö Defence District (''Växjö försvarsområde'', Fo 16) from 1960 to 1961 and as army attaché at the Swedish Embassy in London and in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

from 1961 to 1964. Carlborg was head of Military Academy Karlberg from 1964 to 1969 and served as Defence District Commander of Stockholm Defence District and as Commandant of Stockholm from 1969 to 1973. After retiring from the military, Carlborg was national corps commander of the National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps from 1973 to 1975 and as chairman of Stockholm Shooting Federation (''Stockholms skytteförbund'') until 1976.

Personal life

Carlborg married in 1941 to Ann-Mari Eklind (born 1920), the daughter of the engineer Ragnar Eklind and Ruth Berglund. They had three children: Hans (born 1943), Jan (born 1945) and Björn (born 1947). After his retirement, Carlborg moved to

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, Spain.

Death

Carlborg died on 21 September 2005 in Oscar Parish in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Dates of rank

*1934 – Second lieutenant *1936 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...

'' *1938 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*1942 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

*1952 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*1957 – Lieutenant colonel *1960 –

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(1968) *

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(1964) *

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

(1953) *

Knight 1st Class of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

(1952) *

For_Zealous_and_Devoted_Service_of_the_Realm_ribbon

Silver Medal for Noble Deeds * Army Shooting Medal (SkytteM)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlborg, Nils-Ivar 1913 births 2005 deaths People from Jönköping Swedish Army colonels Swedish military attachés Skydivers Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Knights First Class of the Order of Vasa