Norfolk NATO headquarters welcomes Sweden into the alliance: ‘We’re all stronger and safer’
The vibrant blue and yellow Swedish flag billowed in the wind as it ascended the flagpole Monday to join the flags of other allied nations over the Norfolk NATO headquarters.
“Finally, it is achieved,” said Gen. Chris Badia, deputy commander of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation.
Sweden formally became the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 7. Dozens of people representing all of the allied nations, including a nine-member Swedish delegation, looked on as the flag was raised to mark Sweden’s historic accession.
The new ally is leaving behind 200 years of Nordic neutrality and military nonalignment — a move that strengthens deterrence efforts amid Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine, Badia said.
“We are all stronger and safer now,” Badia said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Sweden and Finland simultaneously submitted applications to join NATO just three months later, The Associated Press reported.
While Finland’s membership was ratified a year ago, Sweden’s was held up due to objections by NATO members Turkey and Hungary. Turkey ratified Sweden’s admission earlier this year, and Hungary did so this past week, making Sweden the fifth Nordic state to join NATO. Sweden and Finland together bolster the alliance along Russia’s western border.
“Sweden is joining NATO in order to defend what we are and everything we believe in,” Badia said.
The accession marked a day of pride, Swedish Maj. Gen. Johan Pekkari said during the flag-raising ceremony.
“Our NATO membership comes with responsibilities to protect and to defend one another,” Pekkari said. “We are proud to assume these responsibilities and we will not take them lightly.”
The addition of Sweden to NATO, he said, is a “turning point,” that “fundamentally shifts the strategic outlook in Northern Europe in NATO favor.”
“We remain strongly committed to supporting Ukraine, and our support is unwavering,” Pekkari said.
Sweden’s accession to NATO comes amid Steadfast Defender 24, the largest NATO military exercise in 36 years. The training, which runs through May, involves roughly 90,000 service members across 31 allied nations. Forces are stretched across the strategically important Arctic region, which NATO described in December as a “pivotal area for global interests encompassing geopolitics, climate conservation, resource accessibility, and security concerns.”
“NATO is ready. Sweden is ready,” Pekkari said. “We are NATO.”
Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
