A military commander serving overseas must be prepared to act and take responsibility for events that they are not fully in control of or can influence. The same commander needs to be ready to deal with imponderable situations and operate in contradictory contexts, often in situations where there are no predetermined solutions. In Mission Commander, seven Swedish military officers describe their experiences of stressful and morally challenging situations. The interviewees have held posts ranging from battalion commander to force commander.

This book also describes a method of developing military skills by using structuredreflection, dialogue and writing. Lotta Victor Tillberg has interviewed Hans Ilis-Alm, Anders Brännström, Olof Granander, Ulf Henricsson, Hans Håkansson, Jan-Gunnar Isberg and Mats Ström. Peter Tillberg is the project leader of The Use of Force and Modern MilitaryProfessionalism , of which the interviews are a part. He is also the picture editor of Mission Commander. The book is part of an ongoing research project on the modern military professionand was commissioned by the Swedish Armed Forces. The Swedish Centre for Studies of Armed Forces and Society (CSMS), a forum for promoting and exchanging researchon military organizations and civil military relations, has carried out this work.