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From: Fredriksson_Urban_NOK@kista.relay.nokia.fi
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Swedish 'dogtags'
Message-ID: <1991Jun20.015638.28919@cbnews.cb.att.com>
Date: 20 Jun 91 01:56:38 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.cb.att.com (william.a.thacker)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 32
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: Fredriksson_Urban_NOK@kista.relay.nokia.fi

In Sweden, everybody doing military service, or born in 1960 or
later, gets a dogtag for free. Others have to pay u3US$.

By default it only contains your       ___________
serial number on both parts.          /   O   O   \
When you are blood typed, that is     |           | YYMMDD-XXXY
put on the upper part.                | ___   ___ | A Rh+
                                      |(___) (___)|
Tags issued in later years also have  |           | YYMMDD-XXXY
your full name on the lower part,     |           | FREDRIKSSON
along with your place of birth. The   |           | URBAN
lower part can also contain medical   \_____O_____/
information, but my users' manual     
only mentions diabetes.           Stainless steel, 38 x 60 mm, round corners
                                  Lower part broken off in case of fatality

On the back it says I shouldn't lose it,
nor stamp my blood group on it myself.

(Serial numbers are based on your date of birth, and are also
your SSN/Single Identification Number, which every Swedish
resident is issued). The XXX is a serial number for that day,
odd=male, even=female. The Y is a check figure depending on the
other figures, to catch writing mistakes.)
--
Urban Fredriksson, Stockholm, Sweden (who ONLY speaks for himself!)
urban@kista.relay.nokia.fi
"The best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him a friend."