– Pull back, pull back! Shouting a soldier on exercise in an empty building in Oslo.
The soldier fires rounds with training ammunition, takes refuge behind a pillar, before running further into a corridor. He and over 50 others put in many training hours in the capital this week.
– What is happening here now is that we are training for combat in a built-up area. We are always working to increase our skills so that we can be ready for different types of assignments.
That’s what Gunvor Linn Gustavsen says to Dagsavisen. She is a lieutenant and second-in-command in Mek 4 (Mechanized Infantry Company 4, journ.anm.) in the Telemark Battalion, and leads the exercise.
The soldiers are going into the unknown
Personnel from the Telemark Battalion and other departments from Brigade Nord and the Army participate.
– So now we train in this building here in Oslo. Another place where we have similar exercises is at Rena where there is also a forest to train in, she explains.
The reason why the exercise takes place in an abandoned office building in Løren is explained by the lieutenant as follows:
– It is because we constantly want to increase the complexity for our soldiers. We do this by taking them into a building they have not been in before, with several floors and rooms that are completely unfamiliar to them. It then presents a greater challenge for them compared to other practice facilities that we use normally, but which are more “familiar”.
– What type of building is this, and can you say specifically which scenarios you practice here?
– It is an abandoned office building. In the building there is both a canteen and old wardrobes, as well as many offices. There are both wooden doors and glass doors, with many different types of stairs and entrances. So there are a lot of nooks and crannies with which the soldiers can challenge themselves, says Gustavsen and continues:
– We have many different “professional areas” with us on this exercise. The infantry, engineers and sanitation are assembled.
Practice finding explosives
The infantry trains on clearing the building itself – i.e. clearing rooms – where they methodically work their way through the building and make sure things are safe.
They clear the building of opponents, look after their own personnel and evacuate any wounded in the exercise. The engineers practice finding and classifying explosives, possibly also charges that have been rigged, which means that the soldiers have to stop and find new ways to go inside the building, explains Lieutenant Gustavsen.
– Then you have the sanitation service which helps the injured, she says.
– When will the scenarios practiced here be able to take place in practice for Norwegian soldiers?
– For our part, it is important to be ready for different types of assignments, and then in a way the whole spectrum applies. We must be able to be good in the forest, but also good at handling greater complexity in cities. There will also be many other elements that must be taken into account.
Training Ukrainian forces
– Tensions in Europe have increased, especially after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Has the frequency of these exercises increased since 2022, for example? Will there be more of them in the future?
– We have basically trained a lot on it before as well. We know that it is part of the development, that conflict can move more into cities where civilians are located. But we bring experiences and try to set up scenarios for things we could potentially encounter in the future. And the training we have here contributes to increasing our own competence and maintaining it compared to, for example, the training of Ukrainian soldiers, replies the lieutenant.
Norway’s contribution to training Ukrainian forces is frequently discussed. In February, for example, Dagsavisen wrote that Norwegian soldiers were to train Ukrainian marines in small boat operations.
– Norway provides in-demand expertise at the top of the world. We have developed a good relationship with Ukrainian marines through training in Norway. Now we are taking this collaboration further and establishing a special training scheme, said Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) at the time.
– How do you work with the training of Ukrainian soldiers, and how often?
– I have no opportunity to answer that.
Dagsavisen has forwarded this question to lieutenant colonel and communications manager Lars Strøm in the Army, but has not yet received an answer.
Read also: Survey: Most Ukrainians want peace negotiations
Dozens of soldiers in action
– How good are Norwegian soldiers at just this?
– We are at the level where we can train Ukrainian forces. So we constantly seek to maintain that level, but also to improve, replies Gunvor Linn Gustavsen.
– How many people participate in the exercise here in Oslo?
– We are 55 people this time. It is both a training force, and we also have training leaders and markersexplains the lieutenant.
—
Marker is in a defense context the same as an indicator, i.e. a person who shows the hit point and value on a target. The term is also used for persons or departments who, during military exercises, must represent enemies, wounded or the like. (Large Norwegian encyclopedia)
—
Read also: 20 years since the Orange Revolution – this is how Russia has influenced the narrative afterwards (+)
Have informed the residents of Løren about the exercise
The building at Løren has been used for such exercises on several occasions. Opposite The daily newspaper a board member of the Lørenvangen Owners’ Association expresses concern that the ongoing exercise may cause nuisance noise for the residents. Lieutenant Gustavsen, for his part, states that the Army has been well informed about the exercise in advance.
– We have sent out alerts, informed the police and the municipality’s emergency services, and in addition we have, for example, posted information in the local area with contact information for the leaders of the exercise. We have also sent out e-mails to people in the neighborhood here, for example to directors of housing associations and condominiums, so that they can inform the residents further.
The exercise takes place Tuesday through Thursday, says Bydel Bjerke in Oslo municipality Facebook. The police have approved the activity, the municipality writes in its notice to residents.
Read also: Expert on Trump’s threats: – Could become a “mini-Nato” in Northern Europe (+)
Read also: What is the plan of the “Trump whisperer”? NATO expert has answers (+)
Read also: Warns: – We must avoid a Nordic “Viking club” in NATO (+)