Top managers get away with it, according to the union – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country

The topics in the whistleblowing cases that NRK has read are varied and cover everything from allegations of sexual harassment and bullying, to breaches of security clearance. This is something that has been reported: The officer must have had sex with the subordinate. Promises from a boss about future promotion, if the employee supports him internally. Lack of proper handling of wet shots. Many of the warnings are against top executives. Among those who have been notified in the material NRK has reviewed are also people who sit in the Chief of Defense’s top management group. NRK does not have access to all alerts transmitted via the various alert channels in the defense sector. NRK does not know whether all the warnings are valid, or whether the warnings have led to consequences. Leader of the Commander’s Joint Organization Jens Jahren. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / NRK But the unions believe that warnings against top managers are not necessarily always handled well enough. – We believe that you have to take these warnings more seriously, you have to spend more time on warnings against managers. Our picture is that we see that there may be many of the warnings against managers and top managers who do not come forward and who are not taken seriously, says Jens Jahren. He is the leader of Befalets Fellesorganisasjon. Right from prison and back as ship commander One of the cases where there has been a report of poor handling by the Armed Forces’ management, is about an officer who was commander on board one of the Navy’s ships. In 2005, one of the Armed Forces’ MTB boats lay at the quay for 2.5 months, because the commander was in prison. The commander of the Norwegian Navy got so drunk at a Christmas table that he ended up in the rest of the police after a riot at a nightclub. In the arrest, he used violence against one of the police officers, and broke the man’s finger. The officer was sentenced to 75 days in prison for violence against a public official. While he was serving his sentence, the Armed Forces must have docked the boat. Sources say that the convicted officer went straight from prison and back as commander of the Armed Forces. The officer rose in rank and continued his career, including in foreign service – with the highest security clearance. NRK has been in contact with the man about the content of this case, but he does not want to comment. Also warnings against top management group Yesterday, NRK was able to tell about the chief sergeant in the Army, Kristine Solhaug. She experienced being pressured to lie to the police by her immediate superior – a case where her boss was under investigation for drunk driving. The commander, who was a major, was convicted, but has kept his degree and a job at the same level in the Armed Forces. Norway’s Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen has profiled himself in the fight against sexual harassment and bullying. Together with former Minister of Defense Frank Bakke Jensen, he wrote last year that «discrimination, bullying and harassment is an internal enemy that we must fight, every day. Together we are the strongest – there is no room for those who bully and harass ». Is it true that there is no room for those who bully and harass in the defense? And does it have consequences for those who are notified? Through several sources with a background in the Armed Forces, NRK has gained access to the content of more than 70 alerts that have been submitted via the Ministry of Defense’s own alert channel over the past two years. All alerts NRK has access to are aimed at specific people in the Armed Forces. 17 of the warnings are aimed at top officers, or what in the military rank system is called flag officers. Norway has about 70 flag officers. They are the officers with the highest rank and position in the agency. Some of the flag officers have several warnings on them. Among the flag officers with warnings on them, there are also people who sit in the Chief of Defense’s management group. Trade union: – Not many consequences of warnings against higher levels NRK has told about the material we are sitting on to the two unions in the Armed Forces, Befalets Fellesorganisasjon and the Norwegian Officers ‘and Specialists’ Association. Leader of BFO, Jens Jahren, says that the increase in alerts in recent years in the Armed Forces is a major challenge. – Our impression is that the Armed Forces is trying to handle the warnings, but we see that in some serious cases it is a bit often missed. It damages the entire whistleblowing institute, says Jahren, who believes a lack of competence may be one explanation. Jahren in BFO was presented for NRK’s ​​material. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / NRK – I think many managers are unsure of how to handle alerts. And the support they have legally is weak especially in the departments, and at a low level. This has major consequences for those who give notice, they may not be heard. This in turn may lead to fewer warnings in the future, and you will not get the openness that the defense wants, says Jahren. BFO criticizes how warnings against leaders are handled in the Armed Forces. – We see is that the consequences come very quickly when it is notified to people at a lower level, but we see that there are not many consequences when it is notified to someone at a higher level, says Jahren. – Are you saying that the peaks are protected? – I hope there is not a culture on it, but from the picture we have, we see that there is a tendency for the peaks to be protected. And it is very sad and very dangerous, because it weakens confidence in the entire warning institute, says Jahren. “Lost the belief that it is useful to notify” NRK has looked at the content of over 70 notifications, which have been reported in the last two years. The open annual reports on warnings in the defense sector show that in recent years between 100 and around 300 warnings have been delivered per year. There has been an increase in the number of cases that have been registered in the various channels for receiving alerts in the defense sector. In several of the alerts, the sender is anonymous. Several whistleblowers write that they fear for their positions in the Armed Forces, if they warn with their own name. One of the warnings NRK has access to is about a general who is said to have employed someone in his own close family. Another warning concerns an allegation of financial infidelity that must have been committed by someone who now works in a leadership position in a municipality: «Furthermore, do you know (the name of a municipality) that they have hired a former leader in the Armed Forces who has embezzled money? Why was this case not sent to the police, and what culture are we really witnessing here? ” Sexual harassment is reported from a camp in northern Norway. “We have not yet seen any reactions here (name of military camp), after several girlfriends have been both sexually harassed and abused. The boss (NRK has taken a position) has said this should be cracked down on, and then he manages to close the cases… ???? » The whistleblower further writes: “I have lost faith that it is useful to warn when I see our top managers say that they should take action, but nothing happens.” Type of cases NRK has seen alerts in the Armed Forces Here are several topics covered in alerts NRK has seen the content of: bullying and sexual harassment sex with subordinate allegations about leaders pushing unpleasant matters under the rug relationship with others in the Armed Forces outside of marriage violations of rules on security clearance where the leader let people work with things they were not trusted for failure to handle wet shots leader who received valuable gifts leaders who let the subordinate leader continue in the Armed Forces despite the verdict in civil criminal case leader as employed son / person in close family in position cheating with travel expenses drunk and drunk driving – Influenced by someone knowing someone at the top The Norwegian Officers ‘and Specialists’ Association (NOF) and leader Torbjørn Bongo believe that there is sometimes a lack of competence to handle alerts in the defense. – In some of the cases where we are involved, either for the benefit of the person being notified or the person notifying, we experience that notifications are handled poorly, Bongo says to NRK. Bongo in NOF believes, in the same way as BFO, that there are tendencies that warnings against tops and leaders are not taken seriously enough in the Armed Forces. Torbjørn Bongo in NOF says the challenge can come up when it comes to people high up in the Armed Forces. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / NRK – The regulations and procedures are the same, too high and too low. The challenge is when you get to a sufficiently high level in the military where most people know each other or have some form of relationship. Then the question is whether those relationships affect how one assesses the various alerts. This is a question we often get; These relationships mean that there are different results from the cases when ordinary employees and managers are notified. We have examples where we consider that warnings against top managers have been affected by someone knowing someone at the top in the Armed Forces, says Bongo. – What do you think about it? – This is a challenge that I think we in the defense sector should discuss: how should we ensure a sufficient degree of objectivity when we handle alerts towards the highest level in the Armed Forces, Bongo says. – In the extreme, this can shake the whole trust in the organization if you suspect that the alerts that are promoted towards peaks are not treated with a sufficient degree of objectivity, decoupled from knowing each other, Bongo says. He believes that it should be discussed whether warnings in the Armed Forces against leaders should be processed by an external body, not subordinate to the Armed Forces, such as the Ombudsman for the Armed Forces. The Storting’s ombudsman for all personnel serving in the Armed Forces. Chief of Defense: – Do not recognize me NRK has presented the information about alerts to top leaders in the Armed Forces for the Armed Forces and the Chief of Defense. Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen is not surprised by the amount of warnings against leaders. – That there is a higher number against leaders, I expect. The leaders have a large area of ​​responsibility which means that they can be exposed to criticism. There may be reorganisations, there may be financial disagreement about how resources are distributed. So that there are many warnings against top officers in the Armed Forces is something the leaders must expect, Kristoffersen says to NRK. Kristoffersen admits that there is potential for improvement. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / NRK When the chief of defense is confronted with the frustration from the whistleblowers and that the unions believe that warnings against top leaders do not have the same consequence, he answers this: – In the cases I have had on my table, I do not recognize myself in it. I recognize that we do the same thorough treatment in cases involving top executives as in all other notification cases. It then becomes a sensible measure of reaction. And there are examples of cases where top leaders have left the Armed Forces on the basis of warning cases against them, the general says in an interview with NRK. Eirik Kristoffersen is nevertheless open to the fact that the Armed Forces sees potential for improvement. Among other things, he believes that there may be challenges with competence and resources to handle notification cases in the departments around the country. – The consequence may be that the cases out in the wards are either treated too strictly or too weakly compared with the way they should be treated. This may be because the managers use their own judgment instead of getting advice from a strong professional environment, says Kristoffersen. The Chief of Defense also sees weaknesses related to whether breaches of the rules have enough consequences in some cases. – I have seen cases that have been dropped by the police, which could then have been followed up by our internal disciplinary trail in the Armed Forces, says Eirik Kristoffersen. The Chief of Defense tells NRK that he does not know the details of the case of the captain who was convicted of violence, came out of prison and then continued to work for the Armed Forces. – It is an example of a case where the person in question receives a verdict and serves it. Then we try in the best possible way to find a suitable position for the person so that they can continue to have a job. Some may then have learned from their mistakes and may therefore still have a job. Therefore, it is not necessarily the case that it must end with termination, says Kristoffersen without going into the details of the case of the captain. Hi! Do you have any input for us? Do you know if other matters in the Armed Forces NRK should look into? Or do you know more about this case? Feel free to contact us by e-mail if you have input. You can also send us input, tips and information encrypted and secure via NRK’s ​​extra secure notification reception – see how to send in via NRK’s ​​SecureDrop here. NRK’s ​​journalists have previously made several cases about conditions in the Armed Forces, including topics such as sexual harassment and abuse in the Armed Forces and the Armed Forces’ downsizing and sale of property. We are always interested in new information that allows us to shed light on the defense sector. So just get in touch with us. Marit Higraff, Tormod Strand, Christine Svendsen, Øyvind Bye SkilleJournalists in NRKSsend me an e-mail



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