Two Norwegian soldiers died in an accident on the evening of the 16 March. They took part in exercise Cold Response, and they drowned when their Leopard-2 tank broke through the ice and sank in a marsh near Bjerkvik in Nordland.

By Espen Schiager, NJHQ

TRAGIC: Cold Response with ten thousand soldiers came to a complete halt when the accident happened.

A report has been developed by an investigation committee which might be published later in April. The report states the reason for why the accident happened, in which the Telemark battalion soldiers Kenneth Møller Nyen and Knut Christian Syse lost their lives.

“The Norwegian Armed Forces have made a lot of effort to improve the security in exercises and operations, but military operations carry more risks than other activities. The need for training has not diminished. We can only reduce the risk of accidents in peacetime or casualties in operations by training realistically,” Major General Kjell Grandhagen said during the memorial ceremony.

Many wish to go abroad
The need for qualified personnel in Afghanistan is great, but there are also many who want to apply for the positions. 545 positions are available, but 1263 people have applied for over seven positions each.

SHOW UP: The Defence Minister says she would seriously consider it if she was given the opportuniy to join the forces when she was 17 years old.

63% of the applicants are between twenty and thirty years old, and the percentage of women is just under seven.

“The numbers show that the interest among the Norwegian people is still present,” says Major Tore Stårvik, chief of international operations in the army.

Girls are called in
Defence Minister Anne-Grete Strøm Erichsen hopes that those girls who are called in before the medical board to check their suitability for the Armed Forces will attend. “I hope they give themselves the opportunity to see what the Armed Forces have to offer,” she says.

It is still voluntary for girls to attend the medical board, but the Armed Forces hope that more will come when they get the invitation.

Cooperates in Skagerrak
The NATO-exercise Brilliant Mariner 06 took place in the waters between Denmark, Germany and Norway at the end of March.

CONTRIBUTION: These missile torpedo boats are part of the Norwegian force in the exercise.

Over 50 vessels from 19 nations participated in the exercise, which involved a complicated scenario. It prepared the naval part of NRF 7 (Natos Response Force 7) before the bigger exercise Steadfast Jaguar in Cape Verde in June.