Sweden to Host NATO's Logistics Headquarters in the Nordic Region
During the Immediate Response exercise in 2024, Sweden provided host-nation support as hundreds of US soldiers and military vehicles moved from Narvik to Finland via Northern Sweden. (Photo: Anja Reimers / Swedish Armed Forces)
The Swedish city of Enköping is to host NATO's regional logistics headquarters. The establishment is part of the new military division of responsibilities in the Nordic region, and will support troop movements in NATO’s Northwest Area of Operations, says Professor Håkon Lunde Saxi at the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College.
"NATO presence in Sweden strengthens our security and deterrence. The logistics centre assists the defence of NATO’s northern flank,” says Sweden's Minister of Defense, Pål Jonson, in a press release on Thursday.
The statement comes in connection with the news about Sweden offering NATO to establish a logistics headquarters in the Swedish city of Enköping in Uppsala County, north of Stockholm.
The staff will consist of about 70 people in peacetime and is to be operational by the end of 2027.
NATO's Northwest Region
The logistics headquarters is a so-called Joint Logistics Support Group Headquarters (JLSG HQ).
Each NATO Area of Operations has this function, which leads and coordinates the maintenance and transport of military units within the Area, according to the Swedish Ministry of Defense.
Since Sweden and the other Nordic countries in the near future will gather in NATO’s Northwest Area of Operations, this will necessitate a JLSG HQ in the new Area of Operations, the ministry continues.
As is known, the Nordic countries are in the process of gathering under NATO's newest operational headquarters, Joint Force Command Norfolk, which is located in the USA, and which has NATO's Northwest Region, including the North Atlantic, the Nordics and the High North, as its area of responsibility.
NATO's logistics base in the Nordic region
Håkon Lunde Saxi at the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College. (Photo: the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College)
The logistics headquarters in Sweden is one of several regional headquarters now being built in the Nordic region under the framework of NATO, and which will support the Norfolk Command, explains Professor Håkon Lunde Saxi at the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College to High North News.
"The establishment is part of the division of responsibilities between the Nordic countries under NATO's Northwest Region. The Sweden-based command has been delayed for a while, due to some ambiguities around location and responsibilities. It is great that this is now coming into place," says Saxi.
As is known, a regional air operations center (CAOC) is also being built in Bodø, and a NATO Forward Land Force for the Nordic region is to be established in Finland.
"Troop movements from North America to Northern Europe will be a typical main task for the type of logistics headquarters to be built in Sweden," explains Saxi.
"This is about receiving allied reinforcements and supporting their logistics," he adds.
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"With our Swedish territory, we have an important role to play for NATO's ability to conduct deterrence," the Swedish Minister of Defense comments to SVT.
"In a scenario where we have a worsened security situation, and where we must quickly reallocate resources and material from west to east, this center will support and ensure that infrastructure and logistics are in place to be able to transport large amounts of personnel and material," he adds.
NATO's new logistics base in the Nordic region
- The staff will comprise around 70 personnel during peacetime.
- The staff will be part of NATO's command structure, with staffing coordinated centrally by NATO.
- The Swedish Armed Forces will prepare and establish the headquarters so that it is operational by the end of 2027.
Source: The Swedish Government.
