Norwegian soldiers have embarked on the longest mid-winter training exercise in recent history, cutting all contact with the outside world for 100 days as they prepare for warfare behind enemy lines. It’s all part of Norway’s ongoing concentration on northern defense issues that also extend to its Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
The Norwegian troops started leaving their base at Helligskogen in the northern county of Troms last week, all of them specially selected for their ability to handle extreme cold and tough conditions. Their unidentified patrol leader told state broadcaster NRK that they’ll face an “extreme number of quite challenging situations” as they train to operate without being detected.
“I feel very privileged to head out with those who I think are the best in Norway to handle the winter,” he told NRK, equating it to the polar expeditions of Fridtjof Nansen and others who operated outdoors under extreme conditions for long periods of time. At the same time, he said, “it’s incredibly exciting to be able to experience something like this.”
His own chief stressed that it will be “tough” on all of them, especially with absolutely no contact with friends or family until the exercise ends towards the end of April. One soldier said he thought it would be an advantage to take a long break from social media, while others called the exercise dubbed “FAM100” (Fagplan Arctic Miljø 100, literally “Professional plan in an Arctic environment for 100 days) “frighteningly important” for Norway and for NATO, since its northern areas and the Arctic are more important than ever as operating areas since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
That’s because the exercise is more than twice as long as the longest so far and its participants will operate deeply undercover. Research will be conducted underway, with soldiers also called upon to write daily diaries and record both feelings and experiences. Norway’s defense department wants to collect as much data as possible from such an extensive exercise with so many participants.
“We’ll have a lot of highs and lows, and face situations that are challenging both personally for the team,” the patrol chief told NRK. At issue, though, is the now-constant threat from Russia, which recently has been accused once again of jamming GPS signals in Norway’s eastern Finnmark and so-called “spoofing,” which leaves navigators unsure of whether they can rely on a GPS signal. The Kirkenes-based Barents Observer has reported extensively on the problem, while NRK this week reported about it as a new form of hybrid warfare.
As Norway’s military launched its latest preparedness plans in Finnmark, discussions were already underway in Tromsø and farther south about the defense of Svalbard, the strategically important Arctic archipelago over which Norway has jurisdiction. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was questioned during a visit to Tromsø this week about how well-protected Svalbard is, especially at a time with the new US president is keen on taking over Greenland, which long has been been considered part of Denmark.
“Svalbard is part of Norway,” Støre told NRK, when asked about its defense capability at a time when Russia, China and the US are also jockeying for position in the Arctic. “We have responsibility to ensure the security of Svalbard.”
Local politicians have been calling for more military presence on and around Svalbard, where Russia also has long had a settlement at Barentsburg. Some even think the US will now make a play for Svalbard since its new and highly controversial president, Donald Trump, also wants to control Greenland.
Støre stressed, though, that the international treaty on Svalbard specifies that no military bases are allowed on its islands. He also stressed that his government wants to keep any tension over Svalbard low, while also ensuring that it’s safe to sail in its waters.
“We have managed that until now, and intend to continue that in the future,” Støre told NRK. “But again, Svalbard is just as much part of Norway as other parts of Norway, and we are responsible for security there.”
Asked whether that includes more military presence, Støre said he was not suggesting that. He added, though, that “the Norwegian defense department has responsibility to ensure security in all parts of Norway.”
Just east of Norway’s border to Russia, meanwhile, attack drones believed to have been fired by Ukraine against Russia were shot down by Russian forces in the Murmansk area on Wednesday. The drones were flying in towards the city of Murmansk itself and Kursk, where Russia has many naval vessels based.
There have been several such attacks during the past year, adding to tension in the far north where Norway shares a border with Russia.The attacks came shortly after the head of Norway’s national police, Benedicte Bjørnland, told its news service Politiforum that Norway should be prepared for a Russian invasion, even though that’s still not ruled as a real threat today.
“I have heard the stories told by the Ukrainian military that they should have been even better prepared themselves,” Bjørnland said. “That is, after (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s) Crimea, but before the invasion and full-scale war in 2022.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund