Särskilda Skyddsgruppen Särskilda Skyddsgruppen ( " Special Protection Group " , SSG ) was a special operations unit of the Swedish military which became active in 1994 . The exact number of operatives was classified but was thought to be between 60 and 80 , with an average age of 31 . SSG could have been deployed to achieve specific , well - defined and often time critical results of strategic or operational significance which couldn ' t have been achieved through the use of conventional forces . Typical missions undertaken by SSG were to engage and destroy targets of great significance to the enemy , to rescue people captured by the enemy or held hostage , and to gather intelligence through combat . SSG ' s missions required its operators to covertly infiltrate and move inside hostile territory and remain undetected for very long periods . History . In 1994 the Särskilda Skyddsgruppen ( Special Protection Group , SSG ) unit was founded , though the unit ' s existence wasn ' t made public until 1997 . There were several reasons why the SSG was formed : one was the threat of foreign special forces , which intended to kill the senior military and civilian officials ( for example politicians ) . The SSG was designed to perform operations which existing military regiments did not have the skills to carry out . The other was that in the early 1990s the missions of the Swedish Army were much more complex and sensitive than before . In 2002 , Afghanistan , the SSG contributed to security and personal protection of the Afghan king , Mohammad Zahir Shah , returning from exile in Italy . The SSG along with other Special Operations Forces also trained Afghan military personnel . In November 2003 , SSG along with FJS / IK ( Para Ranger Rapid Reaction Company , later SIG ) were sent to Zaire ( now Democratic Republic of Congo ) , with members of French special forces CPA10 and 1er RPIMa for Operation Artemis . The mission was to stabilize the situation in the area around the town of Bunia and to stop the killing . Shortly after Operation Artemis , a new unit , Särskilda Inhämtningsgruppen ( Special Reconnaissance Group , SIG ) was founded out of the FJS / IK whose object was information gathering . On March 17 – 18 , 2004 , during the riots in Caglavica near Pristina in Kosovo , SSG operators conducted counter sniper operations . More than 30 SVD Dragunov sniper rifle s were recovered in one hour after deputy battalion commander had granted them " every permission to fire in all of Kosovo " . On November 25 , 2005 , four SSG operatives were wounded during a reconnaissance mission in northern Afghanistan . Of the wounded , Jesper Lindblom died due to his injuries on December 9 , 2005 and Thomas Bergqvist died after having been airlifted to a hospital in Europe . In 2008 , SSG and SIG were deployed to Chad , to prepare for the Swedish contribution of marines to EUFOR . In 2011 , the SSG and SIG were merged to create the Särskilda Operationsgruppen ( Special Operations Group , SOG ) . Recruitment and training . SSG drew its personnel from officers ( lower ranks might have undergone officer training to be able to serve in the unit ) of all three branches of the military , however mainly from K3 ( Airborne & Reconnaissance Infantry ) , Kustjägarna ( Marine Rangers ) , Arméns Jägarbataljon ( Arctic Rangers ) and each applicant must have passed a two - week long grueling selection process . Before selection took place , the applicants were invited to attend a pre - selection weekend , where they would have been tested and given notice of the likelihood of failure or success and how to improve themselves . Selection might only have been attempted once unless there were certain mitigating circumstances that caused the applicant to fail . Because of its level of secrecy , the time it took to train a recruit had not been made public by the SSG but according to the armed forces´ website , basic operator training took more than one year . Each soldier received common training including parachuting , scuba diving and protection . As an operative he would have also received special training within different areas such as HAHO / HALO parachuting , explosives , first aid , sniping and special weapons training . An SSG operative had the ability to insert and extract by several means such as on foot , paradrop , submerged , and by boat and vehicle . Women could have applied to the unit as Intelligence Operators . Training was often held in countries other than Sweden , and joint exercises with other countries special forces were frequent .