– Protecting our freedom, simply – news Troms and Finnmark

The garrison in Sør-Varanger constitutes NATO’s northernmost force. The commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the king, mentioned two reasons why he visited the garrison on Monday. – The last time I was here was in 1969, so maybe it was time to come again. The second is to greet the soldiers who do the important work at Norway’s borders, says King Harald. – Special situation The last time King Harald visited Sør-Varanger today can be felt like a long time ago. In October 2019, the king stood up in Kirkenes to mark 75 years since the Soviets liberated Eastern Finnmark. This autumn, it will be four years since the king together with Erna Solberg (H) and the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov marked that it was 75 years since Eastern Finnmark was liberated. There has been a lot of clean water in Grense Jakobselv since then. Photo: Gisle Oddstad / VG – It is a special situation now, we have had war in Europe since 2014. This has become a more and more important part of the military service, to guard our borders and protect our freedom, quite simply, says King Harald. – Great honour. The soldiers are constantly following what is happening along the border between Norway and Russia. They also have the authority to carry out missions on behalf of the police. King Harald, defense chief Eirik Kristoffersen and battalion chief Michael Spanne Rozmara. Photo: Jan Langhaug / NTB Around 600 soldiers are trained at the Garrison in Sør-Varanger each year. – It is a great honor to have our supreme warlord visit, and not least a recognition for the mission we solve every day, says battalion commander Michael Spanne Rozmara. Continued contact According to Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen, all military cooperation with Russia ended in 2014. – In the Norwegian Armed Forces, we have been concerned not to have military cooperation with Russia, but at the same time maintain the dialogue we have between the Norwegian and Russian border guards, and also that dialogue we have around search and rescue in the Barents Sea, says Kristoffersen.



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