Om / About

English version further down.

Om Wiseman's Wisdoms Jag startade Wiseman's Wisdoms anonymt i slutet av juli 2007 eftersom jag hade ett behov av att diskutera och debattera den dåvarande försvarspolitiken som nyss fått en kalldusch genom dåvarande finansminister Anders Borgs Almedalstal. Det fanns tre anledningar till anonymiteten. Den första var att det som pilot i Flygvapnet (bloggnamnet anknyter till mitt callsign i Flygvapnet) är olämpligt att figurera öppet i media med tanke på främmande makts inhämtning mot nyckelpersonal i Försvarsmakten. Det andra var att jag som ung löjtnant var ointressant ur ett debattsammanhang. Jag hade redan blivit refuserad på flera debattsidor i tidningar p.g.a. att jag inte var "någon". Som anonym blev istället budskapet det centrala. Den tredje anledningen var att jag innan detta fått påpekat att det skulle vara olämpligt att diskutera försvar och försvarspolitik öppet som försvarsmaktsanställd. Det är en åsikt som jag har lika svårt idag som då att  acceptera. Idag har dock Försvarsmakten kommit en lång väg från den mentalitet som rådde 2007 och den öppna debatten som förs idag stärker både öppenheten i samhället, den politiska debatten och beslutsfattandet liksom Försvarsmakten.

I december 2013 meddelades jag av det anti-militaristiska nätverket Ofog att man ansåg att jag hade fått för stor inverkan på försvarspolitiken och att de därför skulle lämna ut min identitet till media. Mer om den händelsen går att läsa i detta inlägg. Istället för att bloggen försvann så växte den istället och jag blev även frekvent inbjuden att hålla föredrag för olika organisationer och partier. Sedan hösten 2014 skriver jag också som krönikör varannan söndag för Expressen om försvars- och säkerhetspolitik.

Sedan augusti 2015 har bloggen hållit låg frekvens p.g.a. att jag prioriterat arbete, men ambitionen är att öka frekvensen igen till hösten.


About Wiseman's Wisdoms
I started Wiseman's Wisdoms in late July 2007 as the first military defence blog in Sweden. I did this partly as a reaction to the recent speech by Sweden's then finance minister where he without prior notification of the Ministry of Defence presented a substantial reduction in defence spending. I had for some time then felt the need to discuss defence issues and security policy as I did not recognise the picture of the Swedish Armed Forces that was presented in media by politicians as well as the high command.

I started the blog anonymously for several reasons. The primary reason was that I am a fighter pilot (the blog name bears a connection to my callsign) and therefore part of a community in Sweden that has throughout history been (and still is) a target for foreign intelligence-gathering. The second reason was that I wanted what I wrote to stand for itself, instead of people having prejudices about me, as I was only a first lieutenant when I started the blog. The third reason was that in 2007, the Swedish Armed Forces had an unofficial policy where it did not approve of its personnel of lower ranks speaking about their opinion on defence and security policy matters. A few years later after Wiseman's Wisdoms had grown influential, together with the other Swedish defence blogs that had appeared by this time, this policy was changed to open support of defence blogs as it was recognised that they improved both the Swedish defence as well as the polictical debate. The Swedish Armed Forces even went on to start their own blogs and blog portal.

In December 2013 I received a phone call from a Swedish peace activist network, known for their public disobedience and acitivities against Swedish and Western military (even inviting a retired Russian colonel to Sweden to talk about NATO's interests in the Arctic). The organization, Ofog, told me that since my influence on Swedish defence policy had grown so big, they had to disclose my identiy to the media in Sweden. Presumably, this was with the hope of having the Swedish Armed Forces reprimanding or shutting me down. The result was the opposite. Both the Swedish Armed Forces and many Swedish members of parliament, as well as journalists came to my aid and supported both me and other defence bloggers as a proof of the strength of the constitutional right to freedom of speech. It has since become widely recognised in Sweden that the defence blogging community has facilitated major parts of the contemporary debate on defence policy, thereby acting as a proof check for the defence of today and the parliamentary defence bills and reports.

Since December 2014, I have been asked frequently to do lectures, speeches and interviews, as well as articles for newspapers and magazines. Wiseman's Wisdoms used to have about 3000 visitors per day, but went up to over 5000 visitors per day after december 2014. Since the autumn of 2014 I have also been writing a column on defence issues and security policy every other Sunday for the major Swedish newspaper Expressen. In November 2014 I was deeply honored by being awarded the Swedish Royal Academy of War Science's Medal of Merit Silver Valor for my contributions to the Swedish defence debate.

My activity on Wiseman's Wisdoms has been purposefully low since the summer of 2015, as I have been a student on the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the UK Defence Academy and I needed to prioritize. My intention is to increase the frequency of posts once again during the autumn.

For the international readers the above story about defence blogging in Sweden probably seems a bit odd. Sweden is however a country where freedom of speech and other rights are central. Having military opinion on public defence matters is an intellectual strength in the same way that having doctors participate in debate on medical and health issues is, teachers in the educational debate and so forth.

The debate and our common knowledge makes improves decision-making and makes us stronger. That is what freedom of speech and democracy is all about.

If you would like to get in contact with me, just post a comment to one of the blog posts or go via Twitter and @wisemanswisdoms.