– It went well, but I was overestimated quite harshly, laughs Vanessa Camarena. She is one of many pandemic youth who had to complete a session over the phone. And then the physical test you usually hear about became completely different. “How many sit-ups do you do? How many push ups can you do? How about pull ups?” The answers the young people gave here influenced whether and where they ended up in the first service. – I was standing in the hallway at school when the phone rang. I only had to answer standing up, and then I couldn’t lie down on the floor and test it out. So it was a bit easy to add an extra push up on the phone, admits Camarena. Vanessa Camarena and the other recruits tested the now form, to see what they had to work on to get ready for battle. Photo: news In the self-declaration form earlier in the year, she had answered how far she can throw a medicine ball, how far she can jump without speed, and how long she can run continuously. But it’s not so easy to answer those questions if you’ve never actually thrown a medicine ball or long jumped. – I didn’t put in much effort, but I really wanted to be in the military. And it was so nice to know that I was good enough for the Armed Forces, says Camarena. Vanessa Camarena really wanted to be in the Armed Forces. Photo: news Mental illness The period when the young people could not meet in a specific room to carry out interviews and physical tests has given the Norwegian Armed Forces some important experiences. Among other things, they have seen that several people dropped out during the recruitment period. – There was a slightly larger proportion who graduated due to mental health. I don’t know if it’s a social trend or just because of the digital session, but it indicates that there is something there, says Commander of the Army, Lars Sivert Lervik. At the same time, they lost the good conversation with the young people. – Through conversation, we get a clearer picture of what people want, so we can place them better. While on the phone, it varies slightly how interactive the conversations are, says Lervik. Chief of the Army, Lars Sivert Lervik, says there is a lot the Armed Forces learned during the pandemic that they are taking with them. But not exactly a phone session. Photo: Fabian Ubeda / news Looking for improvements Head of Department at the Norwegian Armed Forces’ personnel and conscription centre, Gyril Skallerud, says the telephone session was effective then and there. Because they could not stop conscripting people. – But it was sometimes difficult to assess the suitability and fitness of the young people. It was a big minus, she acknowledges. They also learned that men overreported their own physique, while women underreported. Gyril Skallerud is head of department at the Norwegian Armed Forces’ personnel and conscription centre. Photo: Forsvaret But it is something they will take with them further. The Norwegian Armed Forces are now testing several variants for the session. – We test, for example, how much motivation matters. That is one of the factors, says army commander Lervik. Only next year will they have a basis for comparison to see which factors have had an impact. The possibilities and room for action within session digitization are part of the modernization and efficiency program of the Armed Forces. But for now, they do not have suitable platforms to “fully digitize” sessions. – The main focus today is to use digital support to simplify and streamline the session process, rather than replacing physical attendance, says Skallerud in the conscription centre. Vanessa Camarena was worried she would have to black out when she failed all the physical tests. But the Norwegian Armed Forces only saw it as a starting point. Photo: news Got the dream job The person Vanessa Camarena spoke to on the phone in the Norwegian Armed Forces thought she was well suited to become an artillery hunter. It initially sounded like fun, but when it dawned on Camarena what they were actually doing, she was taken aback. – It is one of the mistakes you can make, with a telephone session, I feel. I think it was hard enough already, and it’s certainly not a place I should be. Only when she and the other conscripts were later called in to Setermoen camp in Bardu did they carry out the physical tests. Vanessa Camarena got her dream job in the Armed Forces, as a welfare soldier. Photo: news Camarena later heard from the commander that she had potential for improvement. – I was very happy to hear that I was not dismissed because of my results. Because I thought so, if you weren’t as good as the others. Camarena instead became a welfare soldier in the artillery. It is an environment creator for the fellow soldiers, who ensures that the soldiers have good leisure time outside of duty. – It was fun, and I felt seen. I see that it was the right position for me, she says.
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The telephone session led to several graduates from the Armed Forces – news Troms and Finnmark
