Norwegian Armed Forces


The Norwegian Armed Forces are the armed forces responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Home Guard, and Norwegian Cyber Defence Force as well as several joint departments.
The military force in peacetime is around 17,185 personnel including military and civilian staff, and around 70,000 in total with the current military personnel, conscripts and the Norwegian Home Guard in full mobilization.
Among European NATO members, the military expenditure of US$7.2 billion is the highest per capita.
WWW Official SiteFB Forsvaret

History

An organised military was first assembled in Norway in the 9th century and its early focus was naval warfare. The army was created in 1628 as part of Denmark–Norway, followed by two centuries of regular wars. A Norwegian military was established in 1814, but the military did not see combat until the German occupation of Norway in 1940. Norway abandoned its position as a neutral country in 1949 to become a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Cold War saw a large build-up of air stations and military bases, especially in Northern Norway. Since the 2000s, the military has transformed from a focus on defence from an invasion to a mobile force for international missions.
Norway had its combat units withdraw from the War in Afghanistan in 2021. During the war, Norwegian combat forces had been on loan to ISAF, and later on loan to Resolute Support Mission.

Organisation

The formal commander-in-chief is King Harald V; however, the de facto supreme decision-making is made by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister. The Chief of Defence is the professional head and leader of the armed forces, and is the principal military adviser to the Minister of Defence. The Chief of Defence and his staff is located at Akershus Fortress in Oslo, while the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, responsible for commanding operations, is located in Bodø. The main naval base is Haakonsvern in Bergen Municipality, the main army camps are located at Setermoen in Bardu Municipality, Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality, and Rena in Åmot Municipality. The main air station is Ørland Main Air Station in Ørland Municipality.
Military branches :
Other main structures include:
  • Defence Staff Norway in Oslo acts as the staff of the Chief of Defence. It is headed by a three-star general or admiral. DEFSTNOR assigns priorities, manages resources, provides force generation and support activities. Each of the four branches of defence is headed by a two-star general/admiral who are subordinate to DEFSTNOR.
  • Norwegian Joint Headquarters located at Reitan, close to Bodø has operational control of Norwegian armed forces worldwide 24/7. It is headed by the Supreme Commander Norwegian Forces – a three-star general or admiral.
  • Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation at Kolsås in Bærum Municipality is responsible for engineering, procurement, investment, supply, information and communications technology. It is also responsible for the maintenance, repair and storage of materials.

Conscription

Conscription was constitutionally established on 12 April 1907 with Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov § 119. In earlier times, up until at least the early 2000s, all men aged 19–44 were subject to mandatory service, with good reasons required to avoid becoming drafted. Norway currently employs a weak form of mandatory military service for men and women. For example, in 2010, while 62,873 men and women were called to be examined as persons eligible for military service, only 9,631 were actually conscripted. In practice, all recruits deemed eligible for conscription are not forced to serve, with only those who are judged the most motivated actually being selected.
Since 1985, women have been able to enlist for voluntary service as regular recruits. On 14 June 2013, the Norwegian Parliament voted to extend conscription to women. In 2015 conscription was extended to women making Norway the first NATO member and first European country to make national service compulsory for both men and women. In 2020, women made up one-third of new conscripts.
There is a right of conscientious objection.
Students of professional subjects may serve their conscription after completing a six weeks course, receiving lieutenant ranking when they begin their service. This arrangement is called Conscript Academic Officer.
In 2020, the media said that "several soldiers said that they were informed about additional four months of service; the information was given after military service had started".

Structure

Joint

Norwegian Army

From 1 August 2023 the Norwegian Army has this structure:

Royal Norwegian Navy

Royal Norwegian Air Force

Norwegian Home Guard

Norwegian Cyber Defence Force

Norwegian Special Forces

The Norwegian Special Operations Command (NORSOCOM), was formed on 1 January 2014 by bringing the Special Operations Command, The army's special warfare unit, and the Naval Special Operations Command, The navy's special warfare unit, together under a unified command.
NORSOCOM, Akershus Fortress, Oslo

Norwegian Defence University College

The Norwegian Defence University College is the institution in charge of officer and NCO training, re-qualification and military studies. The officer schools of the separate armed services are departments under NDUC and thus independent from their respective services. The central administration of the NDUC is located at the historic Akershus Fortress in the city center of Oslo.

Leadership

Chief of the NDUC
The NDUC is headed by the Chief of the NDUC, a two-star rank.
Leading Group
The Chief of the NDUC is assisted by the Leading Group, composed of the NDUC's Chief of Staff, the officer in charge of academic work, the chiefs of the Military Academy, the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy, the Chief of the Cyber Engineer Academy, the Chief of the NCO School, the directors of the two institutes for military studies and the NDUC's Command Sergeant Major.
Managing Board
The Managing Board of the NDUC is the governing body and it includes the Chief of the NDUC, The chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force, three members of the board, one external member of the board and one student member of the board.
NDUC HS Administration
The NDUC Administration is composed of two staffs and academic work staff.

Departments

The following departments form the AFHS:
Norwegian National Defence Staff College
The Norwegian National Defence Staff College is located in the Akershus Fortress and provides education in general military studies, common to the services, such as strategic military leadership, international peacekeeping operations, Military-Civilian Cooperation etc. It offers Bachelor and Masters programs as well as advanced academic programs.
Defence Intelligence College
The Defence Intelligence College is located at the Lutvann Barracks in Oslo and the intelligence officer course is a three-year Bachelor program.
Norwegian Military Academy
The Norwegian Military Academy is the Norwegian army officer school, located at the Linderud Barracks in Oslo. It provides officer training and professional development, as well as a NCO training program for high school students.
Air Force Academy
The Air Force Academy is the Norwegian air force officer school, located in the Kuhaugen area in Trondheim Municipality. It provides officer training and professional development, as well as a NCO training program for high school students.
Naval Academy
The Naval Academy is the Norwegian navy officer school, located in the Laksevåg area in Bergen Municipality. It provides officer training and professional development, as well as a NCO training program for high school students.
Cyber Engineer Academy
The Cyber Engineer Academy is the Norwegian Cyber Defence Force officer school, located at the Jørstadmoen Barracks in Fåberg in Lillehammer Municipality. It provides training for officer training in communication and information system operations.
NCO School
The NCO School is a joint institution, training sergeants for all the services. It is located at the Sessvollmoen Barracks in Sessvollmoen near Oslo - Gardermoen IAP. The school was established in 2019 by merging the NCO school of the army, navy, air force, engineering services, military intelligence service and the Home Guard.

Centers

Institute for Defence Studies
The Institute for Defence Studies is located at the Akershus Fortress. It is organised in four centres: Centre for Norwegian and European Security, Centre for Civil-Military Relations, Centre for Asian Studies and Centre for Transatlantic Studies
Armed Forces Higher School Strategic Course
The Strategic Course trains senior military officers and high-ranking government officials in strategic military command and national security studies. It uses the education resources of the Institute for Defence Studies, but it is independent from it, directly subordinated to the Chief of the AFHS.

Small arms and handguns