"My job to defend the country starts on the borderline"
Norway's new Finnmark Brigade will closely cooperate with Finnish forces and self-imposed restrictions on allied training along the border to Russia are up for change, leader of the Norwegian Army, Lars Lervik, said during a visit to Kirkenes.
Major General Lervik was in the Norwegian border town to discuss military investments and a major expansion of local armed forces.
Over the next decade, almost 160 billion kroner (€13,6 billion) will be invested in the country's army. A major share of it will be spent in the northern parts of the country, and a key priority is the establishment of a new Finnmark Brigade.
The local Sør-Varanger Garrison will be at the core of the new brigade. The number of servicemen is significantly increased and new armament and equipment acquired.
"Our plan is to develop a force that will be in Finnmark, in times of peace, crisis and war. It will be a standing army force," Lervik told the local audience.
Several billion kroner will be invested new infrastructure, and cooperation with local authorities is of great importance, he explained.
Local Mayor Magnus Mæland smiled as Lervik laid out the plans. It will give the municipality of Sør-Varanger direly needed new jobs and development.
But good atmosphere notwithstanding, there was a sense of gloom over Lervik's meeting with the local public. Kirkenes is located few kilometres from the border to Russia, and there are two potent Russian brigades and several Northern Fleet navy bases only a short drive away. Hundreds of the soldiers that normally serve on the Russian side of the border are today engaged in the savage onslaught on Ukraine.
"These are historical times, and I fear it is not in a positive sense," Lervik said.
"Our neighbouring country is at full war with another neighbouring country, Ukraine, and this war does not look like ending anytime soon."
"Actually, what is at stake is our possibility to also in the future be able to meet like here tonight, drink coffee in peace and quiet and talk freely about what concerns us. This is what it is all about; our peace and our freedom," he underlined.
On the positive side, the Major General highlighted the close cooperation with nearby Finland. Finland's and Sweden's membership in NATO has significantly strengthened security in the region, he argued.
"For the first time in 500 years, the whole Nordic region is part of the same security architecture."
According to Lervik, it is now becoming increasingly normal for the local Ranger Battalion GSV to train on Finnish soil and for Finnish troops to train in Norway.
"We must stand shoulder to shoulder," he underlined.
"As I stand here today, the leader of the Jaeger Brigade in northern Finland is in Lakselv to meet with the leader of the Finnmark Land Defence. We have units that travel back and forth between the countries so that we learn to know each other better."
The inclusion of Finland in NATO is changing the security landscape in the North and a change in Norway's so-called self-imposed restrictions on allied training in eastern Finnmark seems imminent.
The self-imposed restrictions were originally aimed at reassuring the Soviet Union during the Cold War. But the times have changed.
"Considering the perspective of the North Calotte without borders, it appears rather irrational that Finland today moves allied activities towards the north, while Norway moves allied activities towards the west," the Army chief explains.
The Norwegian Armed Forces have recommended that the self-imposed restrictions are removed. A decision is now on the table of the government in Oslo.
According to Major General Lervik, allied training and cooperation in Eastern Finnmark will strengthen security along the border to Russia.
"My job to defend the country starts on the borderline," he underlined.
