Last week, news was able to report that a total of 30 guardsmen have been fired from the Armed Forces after using drugs. The case started when the police notified the Norwegian Defense Forces at the beginning of August. The background for the warning was a party, where the participants had used drugs. Five of the guards who were dismissed last week are said to have attended the party. Afterwards, the matter was taken up in the company. A further 25 guardsmen then admitted to having used drugs during their military service. But several of the young soldiers react strongly to how the case has been handled, and say they feel pressured and manipulated to confess to their own drug use. Some of them have contacted Elden Advokatfirma to ask for help in assessing the basis for the graduation. One of the guards who was dismissed after admitting drug use believes it is a paradox that you show up hungover on duty and handle weapons, while it is not okay to smoke cannabis while on leave. Photo: Cicilie S. Andersen / news Hair samples were never analyzed The ex-guards news has spoken to wish to remain anonymous. A guard who was not dismissed in the process also confirms what they say. They claim that: They were given the impression that they would receive a lighter sentence if they confessed to illegal drug use. have not been given access to their own confession or documentation of what happened After the summer leave, the guardsmen in the 1st Guards Company were told that random hair tests would be carried out in all the troops. Analyzes of hair can demonstrate repeated use of drugs, even long after consumption. The ex-guards say that lists were made with random names of people who were to be tested in all the troops in the 1st Guards Company. This led to several guardsmen admitting use. – There were many who realized that the race was over, says one of the graduated guardsmen to news. The 20-year-old man says he had smoked weed at the start of his leave. He and another graduated guard talk to news on the phone. – Isn’t it stupid to smoke weed when you are in the Armed Forces, which has zero tolerance for drugs? – We agree with that. In our case, we were drunk and made a mistake. Addiction and graduation in the Armed Forces Conscripts are informed about the defence’s view on the use of illegal drugs, and that there is zero tolerance for this. This information is given, among other things, during the session, which is the conscripts’ first meeting with the Armed Forces. An entry check is carried out when the conscripts arrive at the camp for the first time with the use of sniffer dogs. Furthermore, random checks may be made through the service. The Norwegian Armed Forces’ narcotics group regularly travels to departments across the branches to carry out preventive work and provide information to conscripts and employees. Around 550 conscripts have been discharged for drug addiction in the last five years, the Norwegian Armed Forces informs. These are approximate figures. In total, approximately 48,000 conscripts served in the army, navy, air force and home guard during the period. Source: The armed forces Threatened with stricter punishment The ex-guards claim, among other things, that they were threatened that the case would end up on their civil records if they did not confess. This is despite the fact that the Norwegian Armed Forces switched to a new practice two years ago, which means that drug cases should not be handed over to civilian police authorities, according to the Norwegian Armed Forces Forum. Guard commander Trond Robert Forbregd says he apologizes if any of the soldiers have experienced the communication around the situation as unclear. Photo: Bjørne Østrem Djukastein / news Guard chief Trond Robert Forbregd has confirmed to news that the cases have not been reported to the police. Brage Steinson Wiik-Hansen, spokesperson for the Army, points out that Garden is a large organisation, with around 1,000 employees and conscripts. He says it is demanding to respond to some people who may have been informed at a low level early in the process. Wiik-Hansen writes in an e-mail that it is regrettable if there is “information that is not perceived to correspond with the overall information”. – If any of the soldiers in question feel that the communication about the situation has been unclear, I apologize as head of HMKG. This is undoubtedly a demanding situation to be in, both for them and those around them, writes guard commander Forbregd in another email. King Harald inspects guardsmen in the Gardeleiren at Hovseter in Oslo in 2004. Photo: Erlend Aas / NTB – Not intended as a hoax One of the graduated guardsmen says the hair tests were done by plucking hair with pliers in a gymnasium. The hair samples must have been put in bags and numbered. – It is complicated to take a hair test. It was corporals among the command who took those tests, and they were the only ones present. No one from the narcotics group in the military police, says the ex-guardsman. Wiik-Hansen in the Army confirms that parts of the hair samples were brought in with “a small, disinfected forceps”. He says capacity challenges meant that it was Garden employees who carried out the tests. The hair tests were never analyzed. – After further assessment, it was considered not to use the hair samples on the basis that there could be technical deviations in the collection, says Wiik-Hansen. Another of the guards news has been in contact with feels that the whole testing was “a hoax, to force confessions”. – No, this was not intended as a hoax to provoke confessions, replies Wiik-Hansen. He says the hair tests were carried out in consultation with the Norwegian Armed Forces’ narcotics group, based on the Norwegian Defense Act. – The intention with the hair sampling was that this should be forwarded for testing. Responds to follow-up The confessions must have been handled somewhat differently in the various squads. One of the guards says that those who acknowledged drug use had to sign a document with their own confession in the troop commander’s office. The discharged guards claim they have not been allowed to see the document afterwards. Spokesperson Wiik-Hansen in the Army does not directly answer questions about whether the ex-guards have seen their confessions. He writes that both the officer in charge of the conscript guards and a trusted person were present when the ex-guards signed the documents. – None of the graduates have subsequently, from admission to the day of graduation, expressed a wish to withdraw their admission. The army is aware that allegations have been made subsequently in line with news’s questions. These will now be processed, writes Wiik Hansen. The ex-guards are also puzzled by the head of the guard’s statements that there are no indications of further drug use in the Garden, beyond what has been uncovered. One of the graduated gardaí believes there are “huge dark figures” when it comes to drug use in Garden. Two of the other graduated guards news has been in contact with are of the same opinion. They believe that drug use among young people in general has increased – and believe that this also applies among conscripts. The guards also point out that there was no threat of testing in the other guard companies. – What would have happened if tests were carried out among all guardsmen in all companies? – Then I don’t think there would have been enough guards left to complete the task of standing in front of the Castle. I think the head of the guard knows that too. – A paradox The ex-guards are clear that they have made a fool of themselves. They are primarily looking to point out that they experienced the process as flawed. In addition, they believe that what they describe as “isolated drug use” is being dealt with disproportionately hard. One of the ex-guards refers to media cases in recent months about employees in the Armed Forces who have secretly filmed colleagues in the shower, harassed and drunkenly driven, who have nevertheless kept their jobs. – What do you think about the fact that you have used drugs when it is illegal, and you have to handle weapons? – It’s silly. But you can go on the town for 2 days at the weekend and be a slob, and still handle guns on Monday. It is then a paradox that one can be punished more severely for what may be milder intoxication, longer before one has to handle a weapon. The ex-guards news say they were promised that the case would be kept internal and react to the fact that it came out in the media after a short time. Photo: Cicilie S. Andersen / news At the weekend, a post by law student Jørgen Riis-Gjertsen, who is behind the Instagram account ikke_stresse, generated a lot of engagement on social media. Riis-Gjertsen was employed in the Armed Forces for six years, and he provoked the resignation of the guards. Especially in view of the whistleblowing cases that news and other media have reported in recent months. Cases like this, Riis-Gjertsen believes, should be given higher priority than minor drug offences. – First of all, I think they should enforce zero tolerance for sexual harassment and illegal violence. Especially by fellow soldiers and subordinates. Then they can focus on the fact that someone has smoked weed at a party on the binder in the second half, says Riis-Gjertsen. – If the Armed Forces have zero tolerance for drugs, is it right that they graduate the conscripts? – Yes, that is correct. But I believe that to a far greater extent there should be room to assess case by case, he replies. Plans further testing Guard chief Forbregd tells news that there are plans for further drug testing in Garden, with support from the Norwegian Armed Forces’ drug group. The testing will be carried out among a selection of conscripts and employees in the future, for preventive purposes. – This is common practice in the Armed Forces as part of the work against the use of illegal drugs. As of now, as previously stated, we have no indication of other drug use. The head of the guard says the number of guards who have been dismissed now will not have any consequences for the Garden’s operational service. Guards give a demonstration to Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide at Huseby camp in Oslo in 2018. The soldiers have no connection to the drug case that has now been uncovered. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB
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Narcotics-discharged guards feel cheated – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
