The Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps (, VVK) was during the years 1851–2010 a military administrative corps of reserve personnel in the

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 ...

, who was responsible for in the case of war provide the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...

with specially trained personnel to maintain positions in the field of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

History

The Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps was established in 1851 as a military

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

that primarily catered to the

Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers (). The Government is responsible for its actions ...

's need for engineers for the planning and management of the so-called public works. The corps sorted under the

Ministry of Communications A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities include regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. The ...

and had under the regulations issued on 22 December 1851 the purpose of assisting the National Swedish Road Board (''Väg- och vattenbyggnadsstyrelsen'') in its dealings with public works; the officers of the corps could during the case of war be commanded to the engineering service in the

. Concerning discipline, subordination and liability rules, the corps was under the jurisdiction of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

. The corps was first set up only by certain officers of the Swedish Navy Mechanical Corps, the Army and the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, which had been employed in public companies and therein acquired practical skills. The training of corps officers occurred in 1846-78 at the Higher Artillery and Engineering Grammar School (''Högre artilleri- och ingenjörläroverket'') in Marieberg 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 ...

, but according to a royal letter on 12 June 1885 a special military course for aspirants to the corps was now organized. To gain entry to this course required among other things that one had completed their final examination from the

Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest technical university. Since 2018, KTH consist ...

's Department of Civil Engineering. By royal letter on 19 October 1894 and 6 April 1900, new regulations had been provided for the military training. The corps officers were listed in accordance with the

Royal Proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

on 9 February 1906 to the Army's surplus staff. The regulations in 1922 for entry into the corps were; to have completed the four-year

syllabus A syllabus (; : syllabuses or syllabi) or specification is a document that communicates information about an Academy, academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curriculum. ...

of the training school (''fackskola'') for civil engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology, and from there have obtained full leaving certificate; after completing military service, have undergone a -month-long practical and theoretical course in artillery and fortification et cetera at the Svea Engineer Corps or be a reserve officer in the Fortifications (''Fortifikationen''); and after completing the course at the Royal Institute of Technology, have served at least 3 years at any public work or investigation function as well as to have evinced qualities, required for management of larger companies. During the early 1920s, 10 new corps officers were appointed annually. In 1921 the corps consisted of 221 officers. Of these, one was

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 ...

(who was also the Director General of the National Swedish Road Board), seven lieutenant colonels, 34 majors, 102

captains 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 ...

and 77

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

. The development of this corps formed the basis for civil engineering education in Sweden and subsequently the

. Also the

Swedish Transport Administration The Swedish Transport Administration () is a government agency in Sweden, controlled by the Riksdag and the Government of Sweden. It is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning for transport: road, rail, shipping and aviation. It owns, c ...

has its roots in the corps. The corps later sorted under the Chief of the Army and the head was a

senior colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

. The deputy head was a colonel. The rest of the corps staff held the ranks of lieutenant colonel, major, lieutenant or captain. Since 1937 the Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps has been a reserve officer corps. The corps was decommissioned on 30 September 2010 and the corps officers civil-military expertise in the infrastructure field was then transferred to Göta Engineer Regiment (Ing 2) in

Eksjö Eksjö is a locality and the seat of Eksjö Municipality in Jönköping County, Sweden, with 9,701 inhabitants in 2010. History The city of Eksjö most likely appeared sometime in the Middle Ages when it was the centre for the thing, a regio ...

. A ceremonial handover took place in mid-August 2010. The corps had during decommissioning 84 active officers.

Tasks

The Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps had the task of in the case of war to provide the

with specially trained personnel to maintain positions, which required insight in

, and if that conveniently can take place, also in peacetime provide the Swedish Armed Forces agencies counsel in matters that require access to particular expertise in civil engineering, to keep records of those who have completed university's civil engineering programme or have equivalent competence and other useful techniques in civil engineering for the Swedish Armed Forces, and in cooperation with the Enrollment Administration of the Swedish Armed Forces (''Värnpliktsverket'') and other relevant agencies of the Swedish Armed Forces propose both selection for the needs of the Swedish Armed Forces of a necessary number of technicians in civil engineering as measures for this personnel's appropriate activity during heightened preparedness.

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps.

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

: "Sable, two swords in saltire surmounted by a circle azure charged with a mullet on a cluster of rays as a pentagon, all or".

Medals

In 1993, the ''Väg- och vattenbyggnadskårens förtjänstmedalj'' ("Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps Medal of Merit") in gold and silver (VVKGM/SM). The medal is

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

al and the

medal ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

is of black moiré with a narrow yellow line on the first side and a narrow blue line on the second side.

Heads

Until 1934, the head of the Road and Waterway Construction Service Corps was also the Director General of the National Swedish Road Board (''Väg- och vattenbyggnadsstyrelsen''). *1851–1856: Axel Erik von Sydow *1858–1877: Otto Modig *1877–1887: Carl Gottreich Beijer *1887–1887: Rudolf Cronstedt *1887–1893: Josef Richert *1893–1903: Lars Berg *1903–1924: Fridolf Wijnbladh *1924–1928: Carl Meurling *1926–1932: Fredrik Enblom *1932–1932: Richard Ekwall *1933–1934: Nils Bolinder (acting) *1934–1946: Ernst Lindh *1946–1951: Agne Sandberg *1952–1963: Tord Lindblad *1963–1971: Torsten R. Åström *1971–1982: Anders Lilja *1982–1987: Harald Alexandersson *1987–1989: Curt Hunhammar *1989–1994: Sven Hamberg *1994–2000: Gunnar Lindblad *2000–2007: Hans Engebretsen *2008–2010: Sven-Erik Delsenius

References

Notes

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