– As a team manager, I see that there is a heightened atmosphere in our boys and girls. People take it very seriously, says Jakob Stuland Songstad. He is a sergeant and team leader in the Home Guard and leads an exercise at Bergenhus fortress in Bergen on Monday. At the same time as the annual routine exercise takes place, several thousand armed Home Guard soldiers have been called out to assist the police at a number of socially critical facilities in various places in Norway. The police themselves refer to the situation as “very special”. In the West police district, the Home Guard has taken over guard duty at Kollsnes and Mongstad in order to free up police resources. A few miles away, in the center of Bergen, Songstad participates and leads the exercise. – In what way do you feel that the mood has intensified? – There is no hiding the fact that everyone has caught up with what is happening in the news and what is happening in Europe. So people are probably a bit more on. But apart from that, people enter a kind of bubble: You enter green service from civilian life, says Songstad. Focusing on the exercise Songstad, who is the platoon leader during the exercise in Bergen, says the main focus is on basic team skills, such as marksmanship, and on the best possible education of the soldiers in the Home Guard. – What is it like to be part of the Home Guard when such a situation arises? – For my part, it is very rewarding to be able to train on assignments in a slightly different way than you may have done before. In addition to the fact that you then have full focus, more resources are used, and that we see that what we do results in us being able to solve the assignment in an almost good way, says Songstad. – There is no change in the routines? – No, we carry out the exercise as usual. People know what they are getting into and here we are continuing as planned, says Songstad. FOCUS ON PRACTICE: Team manager Jakob Stuland Songstad says the squad focuses on practice even though the situation in Europe is extraordinary. Photo: Lidvard Sandven Special task force at Mongstad and Kollsnes It is the specially trained task force Bjørn West that stands up to assist the police at Mongstad and Kollsnes. One of the soldiers is doctor Helena Årvik. She is the sanitary officer in the squad. – I am very motivated to be here and there is a good atmosphere in the squad. We are here to solve assignments and it has gone very well so far, she says. Årvik says the squad is well trained for such situations and that they are prepared. MOTIVATED: Helena Årvik in Home Guard’s task force Bjørn West, says she is motivated for the mission the police have given them at Kollsnes. Photo: Benjamin Dyrdal / news Sergeant Amandus Ibsen Børnick in the same force says he notices increased motivation from Home Guard soldiers in general. – Especially in light of previous events and recently, we know both personally and the rest of the squad that motivation is increasing. We also see that in general in the Home Guard. – What kind of challenges do you face now that you will be out here? – From a purely tactical military point of view, we do not see the major challenges. It’s more that everyone who comes here has family and employers when they have to respond at short notice and come out here. In a situation like this, they show a lot of understanding. Everything that is extraordinary will be looked at with slightly different eyes than ordinary activities, says Børnick. Troop sergeant Sigve Sekse says the Home Guard task force is prepared to be at Kollsnes as long as the police need them. SPECIAL TROOP: Bjørn West is one of the Home Guard’s task forces. It is this force that assists the police in Monstad and Kollsnes. From left to back: Troop Sergeant Sigve Sekse, Sergeant Amandus Ibsen Børnick, Troop Commander Henning Fyllingsnes and Helena Årvik in the front of the picture. Photo: Benjamin Dyrdal / news
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– The mood has intensified – news Vestland
