Norwegian Armed Forces

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NorwayNorway Norwegian Armed Forces
Norges Forsvar
Coat of arms of the Norwegian Armed Forces, svg
guide
Commander in Chief : King of Norway , currently King Harald V.
Defense Minister: Frank Bakke-Jensen
Military Commander: Major General Eirik Johan Kristoffersen
Military leadership: The "United High Command"
Headquarters: Oslo
Military strength
Active soldiers: 20,000 (2019)
Reservists: up to 140,000
Conscription: 19 months, of which 12 months with active service
Eligibility for military service: Between 19 and 44 years of age
household
Military budget: $ 7.179 billion (2019)
Share of gross domestic product : 1.7% (2019)
history
Founding: 1905

The Norwegian Armed Forces ( Norwegian Forsvaret , "defense") are responsible for the military defense organization in Norway . They consist of four branches of the armed forces , the army , the navy , which the Coast Guard with covers, the Air Force (Luftforsvaret) , the militia-like organized Home Guard (Heimevernet) and various other joint authorities.

Strength and organization

Norwegian soldiers
Norwegian soldier in Afghanistan

The peacekeeping strength of the entire armed forces of Norway is around 18,000 active soldiers . There are also around 5,000 civilian employees. When mobilized , the total rises to around 83,000. 50,000 of them are members of the Home Guard. In addition, up to 140,000 reservists are available.

In Norway there is compulsory military service for all men and women from the age of 19, the service period is currently twelve months. Of the 63,841 women and men who were drafted in 2012, 9,256 men were drafted. Since 2009 women have also been obliged to be examined , but military service remains voluntary. The proportion of women in 2009 was around 7%. On June 14, 2013, the Norwegian Parliament passed a resolution to make conscription also valid for women from 2015, making Norway the first NATO member and the first European country where conscription applies to both sexes. In October 2014, Parliament passed a change in the law, according to which from 2015 all young people can be convened. Conscripts women were first in the summer of 2016 convened . According to Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide, the goal is to increase the proportion of women; the total number of soldiers should remain the same.

The nominal commander-in-chief of the Norwegian armed forces is the respective King of Norway , currently King Harald V. However , the military is led by the incumbent defense minister and a chief of staff ( Forsvarssjefen ) in an advisory capacity. The "United High Command" of the Norwegian Armed Forces is located in Stavanger and the Krigsskolen Military Academy in Oslo .

General structure

The Norwegian Armed Forces are officially called simply "The Defense" ( Forsvaret ). According to the Norwegian Constitution, the King is its Supreme Commander. In principle, Norway is a constitutional kingdom. The parliament and the government are responsible for defense policy. The current frameworks for the defense sector as of January 1, 2017 are as follows:

Kingdom of Norway ( Staten )

  • Norwegian Parliament ( Stortinget )
    • Norwegian Government ( Regjering , headed by the Prime Minister ( Statsministeren ))
      • Defense Department ( Forsvarsdepartementet headed by the Defense Minister ( Forsvarsministeren ))
        • Military Organization of Defense ( Forsvarets militære organisasjon )
          • Cyber ​​defense ( Cyberforsvaret , branch of the armed forces, led by a major general / rear admiral )
          • Reconnaissance Service ( Etterretningstjenesten , led by a Lieutenant General / Vice Admiral , plays the roles of both State and Military Reconnaissance Service )
            • Defense Military Geographic Service ( Forsvarets militærgeografiske tjeneste )
          • College of Defense [Military Academy] ( Forsvarets høgskole , run by a major general / rear admiral )
            • Defense Staff School ( Forsvarets stabsskole )
            • Defense Education College ( Forsvarets etterretningshøgskole )
            • Distance Learning Department of Defense ( Forsvarets fjernundervisning )
            • Institute for Defense Studies ( Institutt for forsvarsstudier )
          • Defense logistics organization ( Forsvarets logistikk organisasjon integrated military-civil structure)
          • Defense Operational Headquarters ( Forsvarets operational hovedkvarter , the Norwegian Joint Forces Command, led by a Lieutenant General / Vice Admiral and located in Reitan ( Bodø ))
          • Defense medical services ( Forsvarets sanitet , the joint medical service of the armed forces, led by a doctor with the rank of major general / rear admiral )
          • Defense Staff ( Forsvarsstaben , the Norwegian General Staff , led by a Lieutenant General / Vice Admiral , supports the Norwegian Chief of Defense - a General / Admiral )
            • Field Priest Corps ( Feltprest Corpset )
            • Defense Culture and Tradition Department ( Forsvarets avdeling for kultur og tradisjon )
            • Defense payroll administration ( Forsvarets lønnsadministrasjon )
            • Defense media center ( Forsvarets mediesenter )
            • Defense personnel and military service center ( Forsvarets Personell- og Vernepliktssenter )
            • Defense Personnel Services ( Forsvarets Personelltjenester )
              • Defense Housing Service ( Forsvarets boligtjeneste )
              • Defense Welfare Service ( Forsvarets velferdstjeneste )
            • Defense accounting administration ( Forsvarets Regnskapsadministrasjon )
            • Military Security Department ( Forsvarets sikkerhetsavdeling )
            • Computerization program ( LOS-programmed , comes from L edelse, O rganisasjon, S tyring - leadership, organization, control, is led by a brigadier general / flag commodore )
          • Military mission in Brussels ( Militærmisjonen i Brussel , the Norwegian mission to NATO led by a major general / rear admiral )
          • Norwegian Army (led by Generalinspektøren for Hæren , a major general )
            • Brigade Nord ( Brigade Nord , the only Norwegian Army Brigade , stationed in the north of Norway (Staff in Bardufoss ), with a small portion in southeastern Norway ( Rena ))
            • His Majesty's Guard ( Hans Majestet Kongens Guard , the King's Guard and Oslo Garrison Unit, based in the Huseby district of Oslo, with the training company in Terningmoen next to Elverum )
            • Garrison in Sor-Varanger ( garrisons i Sor-Varanger , joint civil and military operation, works as a limit guard ( Grensevakten ) for securing the Russian border with a staff company, a Garrison company and two border guard companies, rod in Høybuktmoen . At the top is a civilian police director.)
            • Army Weapons School ( Hærens våpenskole , brings together all combat and combat support army units for basic, combat and advanced training and for doctrine development, staff in Østerdal Garrison)
            • Defense competence center for logistics and operational support ( Forsvarets kompansesenter for logistikk og operativ støtte , training organization for logistics units and military police, staff in Sessvollmoen )
            • Army department for operational support ( Operasjonsstøtteavdelingen for Hæren , logistics support for the army units and for foreign military units ( host nation support ), infrastructural support from the army bases, staff in Bardufoss )
          • Norwegian Air Force (literally Air Defense ( Luftforsvaret ), led by the Inspector General for Luftforsvaret ), a major general )
            • The 132nd Fliegergeschwader ( 132 Luftving , Ørland Air Base ( Ørland flystasjon ) and outposts in Bodø ( Stasjonsgruppe Bodø ) and Banak ( Stasjonsgruppe Banak )), main unit of the Norwegian Air Force with fighter pilots, NASAMS battalion, object protection troops and air force pioneers, forward NAEW.
            • 133rd Air Wing ( 133 Luftving , Andøya air base ( Andøya flystasjon ), P-3 Orion naval reconnaissance and anti -submarine aircraft, to be relocated to Evenes )
            • 135th Air Wing ( 135 Luftving , Gardermoen air base ( Gardermoen flystasjon ), air transport and electronic combat command unit )
            • 139th Air Wing ( 139 Luftving , Bardufoss air base ( Bardufoss flystasjon ) and outposts in Rygge ( Stasjonsgruppe Rygge ), Sola ( Avdeling Sola ), Haakonsvern ( Avdeling Sola ) and Banak (stationed in Stasjonsgruppe Banak under the 132nd Air Wing of the. ), Helicopter Association Norwegian Air Force, supports the Army North Brigade (Bell-412 SP in Bardufoss), the naval frigates (NH-90NFH in Haakonsvern), the coast guard (NH-90NFH in Bardufoss), the special forces in terrorist readiness next to Oslo (Bell-412 SP in Rygge) and the Ministry of Justice for air rescue ( Sea King Mk43B in Stavanger-Sola, with advanced helicopter rescue chains in Banak , Bodø , Ørland , Florø and Rygge. The basic aviation training school ( Luftforsvarets flygeskole ) also belongs to the 139th Air Wing .)
            • 131st Air Wing ( 131 Luftving , Sørreisa Air Base ( Sørreisa flystasjon )), no airborne units, the squadron is a Control and Reporting Center ( CRC ) and has radar points as branch offices.
          • Norwegian Navy (literally Maritime Defense ( Sjøforsvaret ), led by the Inspector General for the Navy ( Generalinspektøren for Sjøforsvaret ), a rear admiral )
            • Navy ( Marines , from 2002 to 2016 called Coastal Squadron ( Kysteskadren ))
            • Coast Guard ( Kystvakten , the Navy's surveillance units )
            • Navy Schools ( Sjøforsvarets skoler )
          • Norwegian Home Guard (led by Generalinspektøren for Heimevernet , a major general )
            • 11 Home Guard Districts
          • Special Forces of Defense ( Forsvarets spesialstyrker , led by the Chief for Special Forces ( Chefen for Spesialstyrker ), a major general / rear admiral )

army

Structure of the Norwegian Army 2020
Norwegian Leopard 1 tanks

The Norwegian Army has around 7,500 active soldiers and, like the other branches of the armed forces, is in the process of modernization. It is divided into two independent brigades , which are combined in the 6th mobile division . The larger of the two brigades is headquartered in Heggelia, Northern Norway, and includes all regular infantry forces as well as the Norwegian army's only tank and artillery battalion. The smaller brigade is fully deployed in the north of the country and has a special unit, the Jegerkommando , a battalion of border troops and an EloKa battalion. Modern equipment is in regular supply, so the 170 Leopard 1 A5NO tanks previously in service have been replaced by 52 Leopard 2 A4NOs, with the exception of 15 . Also stand

in the army's inventory lists.

The army also includes the Hans Majestet Kongens Guard stationed in Huseby Leir , "His Royal Majesty's Guard", which enjoys international recognition as a highly disciplined protocol unit .

The locations of the Norwegian army are predominantly in the north of the country; the only significant exceptions are the Telemark Battalion deployed in Rena near the Swedish border and the Guard stationed near Oslo. This focus on the north is owed to the strategic concept of the Cold War , in which Norway was responsible for the surveillance and control of the Norwegian-Soviet border.

The standard armament across all armed forces has been the HK416 rapid-fire carbine since April 12, 2007 .

Air Force

Norwegian F-16 fighter aircraft

The Norwegian Air Force has around 2,000 active soldiers. Officially it is called the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF) or in Norwegian Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret . Due to the enormous upstream sea area and the inaccessible mountain and fjord regions in Norway, one of the main tasks of the Air Force is patrol activity , which can hardly be guaranteed by other forces. During the Cold War, various bases were regularly occupied by NATO fighter planes in order to ensure a possible defense against the Soviet Union bordering the northeast of the country . After the US-American Iceland Defense Force withdrew from Iceland in 2006, the Norwegian air force became more involved in maintaining Iceland's defense capability (see also the military situation in Iceland ).

equipment

Association of three Bell 412SPs flying low in a fjord

Air defense

For air defense, there are six NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) missile batteries based on the AIM-120 AMRAAM , numerous guns for air defense and the 70 robot system.

bases

The two most important military airfields (Hovedflystasjoner) are in Bodø and Ørland in the middle of the country, the ICAO airport codes in brackets :

Other active 'flight stations' (Flystasjoner) are spread across the country from north to south, among other things, the railways of the two airports near Oslo are used together with civil air traffic:

In addition, another airfield is used militarily in the far north of the country, but no air formations are permanently stationed at it:

Harstad / Narvik Evenes , Kristiansand Kjevik and Trondheim Værnes airports are no longer regularly used for military purposes.

Naval forces

The Norwegian naval forces ( Norwegian Sjøforsvaret ) consist of the units navy and coast guard as well as the schools of Sjøforsvaret and the bases of Sjøforsvaret .

The frigate Nansen shortly after its commissioning

marine

The Norwegian Navy has around 3,700 active soldiers. In addition to the fleet, the Royal Navy also includes coastal artillery . The fleet command is in Oslo , important bases are also Bergen ( Haakonsvern ) and Tromsø . For the extensive fleet of smaller ship units, bunker berths were also created in areas that are difficult to access (fjords, cliffs). The Navy has:

The last two of the original five frigates of Oslo class were retired of 2007.

There is also a unit of marine infantry ( Marinejegerkommandoen ), combat swimmers ( Kystjegerkommandoen ) and mine divers .

Coast guard

Coast Guard ships in Sortland harbor

The Coast Guard complements the small number of smaller units with around 25 well-armed patrol boats. These include:

Home Guard

The Norwegian home network currently comprises around 50,000 members of the three armed forces , of which around 1,200 currently support the active forces. There is an Army, Air Force and Marine Home Guard, which are currently organized in 18 Home Guard districts; this number is to be reduced to 12 in the course of reforms. This home guard should by no means be understood as a kind of passive reserve reserve for the active force; it is increasingly assuming an active role in homeland security and provides specialists for all areas of the armed forces. The Army Home Defense, for example, plays an important role in the prevention of terrorism , the Marine Home Service has around 200 smaller boats to monitor the sea area and the Air Force Home Service takes on property protection tasks for Air Force facilities.

Calls

Norwegian patrol at Faryab

Norway and other Scandinavian countries support the United States in the so-called war on terror . The Norwegian Parliament supports the global fight against extremists. The Norwegian army therefore sent troops to support NATO's ISAF mission in Afghanistan . Norwegian special forces ( Hærens Jegerkommando ) were involved in commando operations during Operation Enduring Freedom 2002 and regular troops in Operation Harekate Yolo in 2007. Norway currently employs 487 soldiers as part of the ISAF forces. In 2014, the Norwegian troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Ranks

Conscripts Regular soldiers
OR1 OR2 OR3 OR4
Hæren OR 1.png OR 1 - 2.png OR 2 HÆR.png OR 3 HR.png Or4 hær.png
Or4 2.png
Menig Ledende menig Viscorporal Visa corporal 1st class corporal Corporal 1st class
Luftforsvaret Or1 1 air.png Or1 2 air.png Or2 air.png Or3 air.png Or4 1 air.png Or4 2 air.png
Flysoldat Ledende flysoldat Visespesialist Spesialist Ledende spesialist Seniorpesialist
Sjøforsvaret Or1 sjø.png Or2 2 sjø.png Or2 sjø.png Or3 sjø.png Or4 1 sjø.png Or4 2 sjø.png
Menig Ledende menig Visekonstabel Ledende visekonstabel Constant Senior constant
NCOs
OR5 OR6 OR7 OR8 OR9
Hæren Or5 1.png Or5 2.png Or6.png Or7 hær.png Or8 hær.png Or9 hær.png
Sersjant Sersjant 1st class Oversersjant Stabssersjant Kommandérsersjant Serjant major
Luftforsvaret Or5 1.png Or5 2.png Or6.png Or7 hær.png Or8 hær.png Or9 hær.png
Sersjant Seniorsersjant Vingsersjant Stabssersjant Kommandérsersjant Serjant major
Sjøforsvaret Or5 1 sjø.png Or5 2 sjø.png Or6 sjø.png Or7 sjø.png Or8 sjø.png OR9 sjo.png
Kvartérmester Seniorkvartérmester Skvadronsmester Flotile semester Orlogsmester Flagmester
Officers
OF1 OF2 OF3 OF4 OF5 OF6 OF7 OF8 OF9
Hæren Of1 1 hær.png Of1 2.png Of2 hær.png Of3 hær.png Of4 hær.png Of5 hær.png Of6 hær.png Of7 hær.png Of8 hær.png Of9 hær.png
Fenrik Løytnant Captain / Rittmester major Colonel Løytnant Colonel Brigadér Major general Generalløytnant general
Luftforsvaret Of1 1 hær.png Of1 2.png Of2 hær.png Of3 hær.png Of4 hær.png Of5 hær.png Of6 hær.png Of7 hær.png Of8 hær.png Of9 hær.png
Fenrik Løytnant Captain major Colonel Løytnant Colonel Brigadér Major general Generalløytnant general
Sjøforsvaret Of1 1.png Of1 2 sjø.png Of2 sjø.png Of3 sjø.png Of4 sjø.png Of5 sjø.png Of6 sjø.png Of7 sjø.png Of8 sjø.png Of9 sjø.png
Fenrik Løytnant Captain Orlogskaptein Kommandørkaptein Commander Flag Commandor Admiral Visa admiral admiral

Trivia

The armed forces introduced a Meatless Monday (Monday) in November 2013 , on which only meat-free food for the troops is given. In the press releases it is emphasized that the measure does not serve to save money, but to “fight against climate change ”.

literature

  • David Miller: The world's naval forces . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 978-3-8289-5333-8 (English: The world's navies . Translated by Wolfram Schürer).

Web links

Commons : Norwegian Armed Forces  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c "Defense Expenditure of NATO Countries (2012-2019)", Press Release Communique PR / CP (2019) 069, NATO Public Diplomacy Division, June 29, 2019 (PDF, 128kB)
  2. ^ Compulsory military service. Norwegian Armed Forces, January 16, 2012, archived from the original on November 5, 2013 ; accessed on April 27, 2013 (English).
  3. ↑ Norway introduces conscription for women. DiePresse.com , June 14, 2013, accessed June 16, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Marie Melgård, Karen Tjernshaugen: Stortinget vedtar verneplikt for kvinner 14 June . In: Aftenposten . April 21, 2013, ISSN  0804-3116 (Norwegian, online [accessed April 27, 2013]).
  5. ^ Norwegian women opposed to gender-neutral military service. The Norway Post, April 23, 2013, accessed April 27, 2013 .
  6. ↑ diepresse.com - Norway introduces conscription for women. Article dated October 14, 2014, accessed October 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ Forsvarets Military organisasjon (Military Organization of the Armed Forces). Forvaltningsdatabasen (Norwegian government database), accessed October 30, 2017 (Norwegian).
  8. ↑ Norwegians order 20 dingoes (HNA.de, November 1, 2010)
  9. ↑ Equipment Facts - Sea. Norwegian Armed Forces, January 16, 2012, archived from the original on February 3, 2015 ; accessed on April 27, 2013 (English).
  10. ↑ Jennifer Smith: Norwegian army goes vegetarian as it goes to war against climate change by cutting 'ecologically unfriendly' foods. In: dailymail.co.uk. Daily Mail , November 20, 2013, accessed January 18, 2016 .
  11. ↑ Heather Saul: Norwegian army placed on strict vegetarian diet. In: independent.co.uk. The Independent , November 30, 2013, accessed January 18, 2016 .