page_title: Särskilda operationsgruppen
section_title: Selection and training
hierarchical_section_title: Särskilda operationsgruppen / Selection and training
caption_attribution_description: English: Swedish special forces
context_page_description: Särskilda Operationsgruppen is a special operations unit within the Swedish Armed Forces which has been active since 2011. The unit is headquartered at Karlsborg Fortress in Karlsborg, Västra Götaland County.
context_section_description: Selection is open for Armed Forces members of both sexes who are at least eligible for specialist officer's training.
  The candidates are advised to prepare themselves at least six months prior to the selection course and are invited to attend a pre-selection weekend where they will be tested and advised on their likelihood of success or failure and also where they need to improve.
  The selection process takes 2–3 weeks and is held once a year. Historically, candidates for SOG’s predecessors, the SSG and SIG, were sought out by the unit and invited to attempt selection. Selection for SOG, however, is advertised on the Armed Forces website and at unit garrisons and is open for anyone who meets the basic requirements.
  The selection consists of an extremely grueling field exercise, stretching over more than a week, where the candidates are tested on their fitness, fieldcraft and land navigation and the tests are conducted during great stress. The second week consists of psychological tests, similar to those undertaken by fighter pilots. They are also tested for their predisposition for phobias, such as heights and confined spaces. Typically, selection has a roughly 10% pass rate. If the candidate is successful, he/she will begin the basic operator course which lasts for 12 months and is divided into three blocks:
  Basic combat skills
  Patrol skills
  Specialist skills
  Once completed, the operator will be put in an operational patrol within a troop and can be deployed with the unit. 
  Personnel applying to join the unit as EOD or JTAC operators undergo the same selection process as the normal operators but do a shorter eight month basic operator course, after which they continue with specialist training in the EOD or JTAC function.
  Operators train at their own compound at a secret location near Karlsborg, which, among shooting ranges, also features a large multi-story CQB-building, with bullet-absorbing lining in its walls. The building also facilitates helicopter insertions on its roof. Much of their training is also conducted internationally, often alongside the special forces units of Sweden's NATO partners.
caption: Swedish SOG operators practicing CQB.
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