Philip O’Connor. Ilze Filks

VISBY (Sweden) – A crackling sound breaks the stillness in a forest. Camilla Selander is a deli counter worker who squeezes shots out of her Glock 9 millimetre gun during practice on Gotland’s Home Guard. 

This 34-year old is one of many volunteers who practice at the military firing range located on the island. He will likely be in the forefront of any possible future conflict between Russia and Sweden.

This island is only 300km (186 mi) away from Russia’s Baltic Fleet, located in Kaliningrad, Russia’s exclave. It lies between Lithuanian and Polish.

“People are a little worried but we’re trying keep everyone calm so that we can talk about the happenings but still tell each other it will be fine,” Selander said to Reuters during a break while filming in Visborgsslatt’s forest.

Russia’s invasion in Ukraine forced Sweden and Finland, which are neighbors to Finland, to reconsider their security policies and consider whether it is possible for them not only remain secure outside NATO but also protect themselves from its promises that any attack on any NATO member would be considered an attack against all.

The decision by both nations to become members of the 30 nation alliance is expected to be made in May.

Gotland was briefly held by Russian troops during the war in which Finland fell under the control of the Tsar for over a century. It is now considered important for the defense of Sweden and NATO members Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

Karlis Neretnieks is a former general and chief of Sweden’s National Defence College.

With Sweden joining NATO, this “wall” would almost become a “road” to support the Baltic States instead.

Sweden, which has just withdrawn its forces from Gotland, three decades after the Soviet Union collapse, is quickly rebuilding its military presence there. The island is 170 km long and 105 miles in length, making it a favorite vacation spot for Swedes.

The Gotland Regiment was reactivated in 2018 and the island has been strengthened with ground to air missiles and other defense measures. It is all part of a larger rearmament effort that Russia began after annexed Crimea in 2014.

Both the government and military in Sweden deny that Russia is planning to invade.

But, the actions of President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine indicate that not many are ready to trust this assumption for their safety. It is widely believed that both Sweden and Finland plan to apply for NATO membership.

Col Magnus Frykvall, Colonel of the Gotland Regiment stated that “in the short-term the military situation would better for Sweden or for Gotland.”

Russia’s threshold effect in attacking NATO countries would be more than that of a non-NATO country.

The decision to join the NATO would change the security map for Northern Europe and create a large unbroken network of NATO countries across the continent, from the Arctic to Black Sea.

Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto expects to support Sweden in May 12.

A comprehensive review of Sweden’s security policy by all parties will take place on May 13. The ruling Social Democrats, who have been long opponents to the alliance joining it, will likely vote in favor of joining days later.

People of Gotland have felt a sense that they are back in a past era. Gotland’s scenic coastline is littered with abandoned machine gun nests dating from World War Two.

Rutger Banholtz (retired officer, former Head of the Home Guard) said “Gotland”. “It’s an aircraft carrier.”

“He who sits at Gotland has control over large areas of the Baltic Sea.”