The Army

It was a special feeling arriving in Boden last night. My dad did his military service here in the 70s and it’s still a huge military base located in Northern Sweden. I’ve never been this far north before and the road trip here was a true adventure through snow, spectacular coastline and mountains. I had to drive over 1000 kilometres with my Scania P124 truck!

 

Before falling asleep last night, I went to Regiment I 19’s gym, which must have looked the same even when my dad was working out 35 years ago. In the small basement room with low ceilings and wooden walls, I counted ten young men with well-defined muscles from the exercise bike in the middle. Perhaps I am getting used to always being around men, or it could have been the loud music by System of a Down blasting out from the speakers in the former USSR looking sweat spot – but I felt instantly at home.

 

The Psyops team is in Northern Sweden to participate in something called CET – Combat Enhancement Training. It kicked off today and apart from planning a new radio station in Norway, I spent half of the day shooting. I wore my brand new snow uniform and blended in well with the environment. Having been called Nikita during my soldier training last summer, my nickname in the snow became Sniper!

 

I hadn’t used my AK5c with Aimpoint since June last year, and I felt a rush of adrenaline ahead of the shooting. It didn’t happen when I shot with Glock in September, so it was a nice surprise. I skipped lunch since I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to digest well and it turned out to be a good idea. My heart was pumping and even my fingertips and toes got warm from the first firing.

 

Right now, I’ve finished cleaning my weapon, locked it away and I’m getting ready for dinner. I’m starving and looking forward to putting on my own clothes and taking a walk. It’s snowing outside and the temperature is mild.