Allied Forces North Norway


Allied Forces North Norway was a NATO command tasked with the defense of Northern Norway. NON's area of responsibility covered the three northernmost counties of Norway: Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, as well as the adjacent sea territory. It formed part of Allied Forces Northern Europe.

History

Allied Forces North Norway was activated in 1962 along with Allied Forces South Norway and Allied Forces Baltic Approaches. Unlike most other NATO commands NON was a staffed entirely by members of the Norwegian Armed Forces. Its operational headquarters was located in a bunker at Reitan, which today is used as the Norwegian Joint Headquarters. The commander of NON had three deputies: Commander Land Forces North Norway, Commander Air Forces North Norway, and Commander Naval Forces North Norway. Each of the three deputies commanded the Norwegian units of his service branch based in. Incoming allied units would have come under the command of these three deputy commanders.

Structure in 1989

NON had the following units at its disposal to fight an attack by the Soviet Union's 6th Army:Allied Forces North Norway, commanded by a Norwegian lieutenant general:

Commander Naval Forces North Norway

Naval Forces North Norway was tasked with the defence of Northern Norway's coastal waters against Soviet naval incursions and amphibious landings. Operations in the ocean beyond Norway's coastal waters were under the command of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic's Northern Sub-Area Command. Therefore NAVNON consisted of coastal artillery units and one fast attack craft squadron. The boats for the fast attack craft squadron were dispatched from units in Southern Norway on a rotational basis.Commander Naval Forces North Norway, commanded by a Norwegian rear admiral:

Commander Air Forces North Norway

Commander Air Forces North Norway, commanded by a Norwegian major general:

Commander Land Forces North Norway

Commander Land Forces North Norway, commanded by a Norwegian major general:

Reinforcements

NON would have been reinforced by the following Norwegian units from Allied Forces South Norway:Brigade 5 in Terningmoen in Eastern Norway, equipment pre-positioned in Northern Norway
  • * 1st Infantry Battalion
  • * 2nd Infantry Battalion
  • * 3rd Infantry Battalion
  • * Field Artillery Battalion with M109G 155mm self-propelled howitzers
  • * Reconnaissance Squadron
  • * Anti-tank Missile Company
  • * Anti-Aircraft Battery
  • * Engineer Company
  • * Artillery Observation Platoon with 2x Cessna O-1A planesBrigade 6 in Hønefoss in Eastern Norway, equipment pre-positioned in Northern Norway
  • * 1st Infantry Battalion
  • * 2nd Infantry Battalion
  • * 3rd Infantry Battalion
  • * Field Artillery Battalion with M114 155 mm towed howitzers
  • * Reconnaissance Squadron
NATO would have planned to reinforce Allied Forces North Norway with 2–7 days with the following allied formations:

U.S. Forces in Northern Norway

The US military maintained three small units in Northern Norway.