In times of need for increased military capability, the Swedish Armed Forces faces in the next few years a challenge in the personnel supply, due to a shortage of newly graduated officers combined with a large number of retiring officers. To meet the demands of the increased recruitment of military officers, and being able to adapt the recruitment campaigns, an important task is first to identify what motivates young soldiers and recruits to embark on a military officer career.  The aim of this quantitative study is to investigate the motivation of Swedish recruits to apply for Military Academy Karlberg (MHS K), or what brings them to the opposite choice. To this end Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory, and the postmodern-/modern-/paleomodern-categories of Battistelli, have been applied in order to measure motivation among recruits. The results indicate that both those recruits that have applied for MHS K, and those who have not, are motivated mostly by postmodern factors related to self-fulfilment. Applicants seem to be motivated by, for example, personal- or leadership development, while those who do not apply often have other plans usually involving civilian work and education. In addition, the study found that among those who apply, women and non-combat units appear to have a stronger postmodern motivation than men and combat units.

In times of need for increased military capability, the Swedish Armed Forces faces in the next few years a challenge in the personnel supply, due to a shortage of newly graduated officers combined with a large number of retiring officers. To meet the demands of the increased recruitment of military officers, and being able to adapt the recruitment campaigns, an important task is first to identify what motivates young soldiers and recruits to embark on a military officer career.  The aim of this quantitative study is to investigate the motivation of Swedish recruits to apply for Military Academy Karlberg (MHS K), or what brings them to the opposite choice. To this end Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory, and the postmodern-/modern-/paleomodern-categories of Battistelli, have been applied in order to measure motivation among recruits. The results indicate that both those recruits that have applied for MHS K, and those who have not, are motivated mostly by postmodern factors related to self-fulfilment. Applicants seem to be motivated by, for example, personal- or leadership development, while those who do not apply often have other plans usually involving civilian work and education. In addition, the study found that among those who apply, women and non-combat units appear to have a stronger postmodern motivation than men and combat units.