The conclusion is that all the managers involved keep their jobs and degrees. The debate has raged after news has written about a number of notification and personnel matters in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Commentators have written that the cases are a “symptom of an unhealthy culture”, “failure in an organization we need more than ever” and a “systemic problem”. Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen himself has said that the cases have thrown him and the Defense into a crisis. The major who drove drunk This spring, Kristine Solhaug told how a major tried to pressure her to give a false statement to the police after he had driven drunk. – He calls me the next day. Then he says that if the police call me and ask, I have to say that he didn’t drink at the party the day before, Solhaug told news in May. The major was convicted both of trying to get others to speak incorrectly and of drunken driving. At the same time, the Norwegian Armed Forces let the major continue to work in an important position at Bardufoss. Solhaug notified the Norwegian Defense Forces of both long-term pressure from the major and the commanders’ handling. After news’s publication, the Norwegian Armed Forces have reviewed the case. The major has now received a written warning. – We have looked at that case again and the person concerned has been given a written warning after that review, says Vice Admiral Elisabeth Natvig to news. She is head of the Defense Staff. Vice-Admiral Elisabeth Natvig is responsible for the Norwegian Armed Forces’ handling of the cases. Photo: Joakim Pedersen / news Natvig has previously indicated in an article in news that the Norwegian Armed Forces have good reason to proceed with dismissal proceedings against the officer: “It is, for example, clear to many of us that when an officer puts pressure on a subordinate to get the person concerned to give a false statement to the police with the intention of hiding a criminal relationship for which he is convicted, there is good reason to go to dismissal proceedings,” Natvig wrote. – Why has the Armed Forces chosen the mildest form of reaction? – It has something to do with how the case has been handled since it first came in. When we go in and look at it again now, we see that the time that has passed has limited our room for action somewhat, Natvig now answers. This is how the ladder of formal reactions was explained recently in a report from the Chief of Defense on notification. Photo: diagram from the Chief of Defense’s report on whistleblowing / The Norwegian Armed Forces Whistleblower Solhaug believes that the consequences for the major are not commensurate with what she experienced. – I think it is sad that there is such a mild reaction. I wish the reaction from the Armed Forces was stricter, as I believe serious behavior has been committed by the person I notified, says Solhaug to news. news has been in contact with the major. He answers via his trade union. “In this case, there has previously been a reaction with both measures and verbal feedback. No new issues have arisen and the employer has been well aware of all matters throughout. It is then not normal to give a written warning”, writes union leader Jens Jahren in an email to news. Solhaug also sent a written notice of how the managers above the major handled the case. The defense states that this warning – against the then battalion commander Pål Svarstad and the then commander of Brigade North Lars Lervik – is still being processed. – It is a burden that things take so long. The notice was delivered in November last year. I can’t close the chapter as long as things are still going on, says Solhaug. Lost the job on the wrong basis In June, news told the sensational story about Line Svingen. Svingen was the first female helicopter pilot in the Norwegian Armed Forces and had a leadership career there. But in 2009 she was removed from her job as squadron commander. Among other things, she was accused of being “unfit to command”. However, the dismissal turned out to be based on what LO calls a “constructed and incorrect basis”. Line Svingen entered the Armed Forces as a young woman. She became the first female helicopter pilot in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Photo: Privat The case ended with the Defense withdrawing all accusations. The turn received an unreserved apology from the then chief of the Air Force. The defense also gave Svingen six annual salaries to avoid a lawsuit. It was Major General Lars Christian Aamodt who recommended that Svingen should lose his job. In 2009, he was Svingen’s immediate supervisor. He was recently promoted to one of the top positions in the Armed Forces. He is head of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ logistics organization (FLO). Lars Christian Aamodt is one of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ most trusted men. Photo: Linn Cathrin Olsen / VG In June, defense chief Eirik Kristoffersen said that he had not found that Aamodt had done anything objectionable in the case. At the same time, the defense chief said that the case had not been evaluated. Now the Norwegian Armed Forces have decided to leave it all alone. – This is a 13-year-old case, so we find no reason to take up the particular case and evaluate it, says Natvig to news. She says that the defense chief has had a conversation with Line Svingen, but none of the other parties in the case. Kristoffersen has also apologized for the Norwegian Armed Forces’ treatment of her. Major General Aamodt, who was behind the dismissal of Svingen, will not answer whether he is also sorry. Elisabeth Natvig answers on behalf of the Norwegian Armed Forces. – Does Aamodt stand behind the apology? – He has no comment on this case, says Natvig to news. – Why not? – You almost have to ask him about that. – Isn’t it special when the chief of defense apologizes? – I cannot go into what assessments Aamodt made when the case was dealt with, or what assessments he is making now, replies Natvig. news has asked for an interview with Aamodt, but he does not want to appear. We have also sent several questions to the Major General. Aamodt has sent this reply by e-mail: “I do not wish to comment on the matter to Line Svingen because this was a personnel matter and was treated as such by the right decision-makers”. Line Svingen tells news that she is disappointed that the Norwegian Armed Forces will not evaluate what happened. – I think they would rather have the case dismissed. I’m not shocked, unfortunately that’s how it used to be in the Armed Forces. But I am disappointed and I wonder if they really want to learn something from this case. What could they learn? – The armed forces could learn something about employment processes, who should be promoted. When someone commits such a gross violation that has such a big impact and is so devastating, it must stick and be in the papers of the person concerned so that it is not forgotten in the next hiring round, says Svingen and adds. – One of the basic pillars of the Armed Forces must be that you can have confidence in those you end up going into conflict with. Photo: Tomm W. Christiansen / news Notification of sexual harassment from a colonel At the beginning of July, news wrote how five women told about sexual pressure from a colonel in notifications and interrogations. Two of the women came forward with their experiences at news. One of them was Caroline, who works as a lieutenant. Caroline told about how the colonel touched her against her will and that he sent messages with sexual allusions. She said the advances didn’t stop even though she tried to say no in a nice way. – It developed into a more direct question about whether I wanted to join the cabin to have sex, Caroline told news. The man himself has stated that he thought the contact with the women was mutual and voluntary. The women have rejected this in an interview with news. The Norwegian Defense Forces were notified of the case and investigated it. At the same time, they let the man take up a new high-ranking position. He advanced in rank to colonel. A formal military censure was initially imposed, but then withdrawn. Instead, a written warning was given – the lowest formal form of reaction. The warning was to be deleted after two years, and it was deleted this summer. Chief of the Defense Staff, Elisabeth Natvig, states that the case has been reviewed again following news’s cases. – We did not find any objectionable circumstances in how the case has been handled in the notification channel, says Natvig. – Does this colonel still have the full confidence of the Armed Forces? – It is a personnel matter that I do not want to go into, replies Natvig. John Christian Elden is now the man’s lawyer. He informs news that the man is still employed in the Armed Forces in the same position and with the same rank. Attorney John Christian Elden now represents the colonel. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news The officer, who is now a colonel, had been selected for a prestigious further education in the Armed Forces before news’s cases. After the cases were published, the man was withdrawn from the education course. He was given the reason that it was “after an overall assessment”. According to Elden, the man complained about the warning he was given in December 2020. Elden believes there has been a procedural error and reacts to the Defense saying that there has not been. Caroline, who experienced being subjected to sexual pressure from the man, perceives that the case is closed. – I think it is objectionable that the Norwegian Armed Forces, as an employer, allows him to continue as if nothing has really happened, she says to news today. To be investigated Following the cases from news and other media, the Norwegian Armed Forces have started a review of their own systems for handling notifications. In a status report to Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp), the Norwegian Armed Forces admitted that whistleblowers had not been looked after well enough. Going forward, they have promised a number of measures, which include: Whistleblowers will now be told how a case ended, and what reaction the person who was notified may have received. Review of a number of notification cases. The defense has then started with open and unfinished cases and cases from later years where objectionable circumstances were demonstrated. The armed forces must review the use of reactions to ensure equal treatment and the right consequences when cases arise. Imposed reactions such as reprimands or warnings must in future be stored in the personnel system and not automatically deleted. The entire system for reporting and handling bullying and harassment must be reviewed by external, independent investigators. The Norwegian Armed Forces have hired the consultancy PwC, which will deliver a report by 1 November. Head of the Defense Staff, Elisabeth Natvig, says one of the conclusions of the work may be that the Defense has treated the cases too leniently. – It is to investigate whether the reactions and consequences are in relation to how it is reacted in other large companies and how society sees that we should react in such incidents, says Natvig.
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