Man provides exclusive nuclear-bomb shelter tour for Daily Mail
The public here are rising gallantly and nobly – man and woman, young and old, regardless of class or ethnicity. Read this fascinating dispatchCrouched ready for action, their chilblained hands hovering nervously beside holstered pistols, a band of rookie soldiers face down an enemy platoon, awaiting the order to fire.
A fortnight from now, however, Lieutenant Hakan Adolfsson, one of the officers overseeing the training of these 22 new recruits, at a pine-forested former Cold War army camp in the coastal town of Vaddo, is confident they will be ready for the battlefield. A target of a Russian soldier with a Kalshnikov. Lieutenant Hakan Adolfsson says: ‘It may not be correct to say they are Russians, but it’s the truth'However, if old-fashioned qualities such as patriotism, honour and a determination to defend one’s nation from tyranny are any yardstick, these rookies, whose drills I observed on Thursday, will one day make the Swedish military proud.
Compare this with the dire situation in Britain, where the strength of both the reserve and regular armies is falling, largely because of public apathy and underfunding. At a recent security conference, Michael Byden, supreme commander of Sweden’s armed forces, urged the nation’s ten million citizens to ‘mentally prepare for the fact that a war could happen in Sweden’.
Witness the paroxysms of anger recently aimed towards Army chief General Sir Patrick Sanders when he dared to suggest that we should recruit a big, well-trained ‘citizen army’ . Sweden’s regular army will also be boosted by increasing its contingent of conscripts, who already account for ten per cent of its military personnel - although judging by the prevailing mood, there will be no need to force many Swedes to serve their country.
Other recruits offered similarly heartfelt reasons for leaving comfortable homes and jobs to undertake the tough, 12 hours-a-day course, which aims to teach them the skills of forest warfare – the type of conflict that might ensue should Russian troops invade. Where now, one wondered, were the placard-waving peaceniks who once took to Stockholm’s streets with their ban-the-bomb slogans and anti-American slogans?
So, when I asked Lieutenant Adolfsson who his new charges were supposed to be firing at, he gave a frank reply. ‘Well, they are carrying Kalashnikovs so you can make up your own mind,’ he smiled mirthlessly. Bunk beds in the bunker, which could safeguard up to 44 people from radiation poisoning for several months
It ended with Russia a great European superpower and the Swedish empire in terminal decline. And since Putin has hailed Peter as Russia’s greatest ruler, he may harbour dreams of emulating his hero. In readying themselves for war, many people are preparing to hunker down, following the government’s advice to stockpile supplies of food and fresh water, and take other steps to allow many weeks of enforced self-reliance.
During the Cold War, when Sweden’s declared policy of non-allegiance failed to assuage fears of Soviet missile strikes, an astonishing number of nuclear bunkers – some 64,000 – were excavated beneath villages, towns and cities. With the countdown to war ticking again, however, these same councils are now keen to buy them back. Officials in the small southern town of Eslov offloaded their shelter for just £75,000, several years ago, to two local brothers.
As I approached the wooden house, it looked handsome enough with its grey facade, but it seemed overvalued at its brochure price of 16 million Swedish krona . Descending into the echoing shelter, with its Cold War kitsch decor and black and white photographs of flashpoint places such as Checkpoint Charlie, is an eerie experience: like turning the clock back 60 years.
Unapologetic for profiting from Sweden’s crisis, he plans to use the million-plus sale proceeds to travel around Europe for a year, with his wife, on a classic American motorbike. However, according to Micael Steneland, the estate agent conducting the sale, the shelter has already quadrupled the value of the house and, given the huge level of interest, he expects bids to rise considerably higher.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Russian paramilitary groups loyal to Ukraine launch cross-border attacks inside Russian territoryRussian fighters loyal to Ukraine have carried out their biggest attack since the start of the war, the group has claimed following a bombardment of drone attacks by Kyiv's own forces.
Read more »
Incoming Man United director Dan Ashworth given four-man list of high-profile players to sell...Lianne Sanderson makes a 3 man shortlist of Manchester United stars Dan Ashworth should sell if he joins the club
Read more »
Man Utd fans finally lose patience with Erik ten Hag signing after Man City howlerManchester City came from behind to beat Manchester United in the Premier League.
Read more »
Man Utd 'assessing' Gareth Southgate as potential Erik ten Hag replacement as three-man shortlist revealedEngland manager Gareth Southgate has been named as a potential successor to Erik ten Hag.
Read more »
Meet the man tasked with leading Man City into the futureMEN Sport sat down with Manchester City's new Academy Director Thomas Krucken to discuss his vision for the club's young players in an exclusive interview.
Read more »
Man Utd's forgotten man is set to be available againMan United midfielder Mason Mount has been absent with injury since November and a date has finally been set for his return from the sidelines.
Read more »