Hærens Jegerkommando
| Hærens Jegerkommando | |
|---|---|
 Norwegian army special forces logo |
|
| Active | HFJS: 1962 - 1971 HJS: 1971 - 1997 HJK: 1997- current |
| Country |  Norway |
| Branch | Royal Norwegian Army |
| Type | Army Special Forces |
| Role | Special Reconnaissance (SR) Direct Action (DA) Military assistance (MA) Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR) |
| Size | Classified |
| Garrison/HQ | Rena leir |
| Engagements | Bosnian war Kosovo war Operation Enduring Freedom Task Force K-Bar Operation Anaconda |
| Decorations |  United States Army Presidential Unit Citation |
Hærens Jegerkommando is a special forces unit of the Norwegian military. It is the armed forces competence center for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters are located 30 km. north of Elverum in the south east Norway, at Rena leir military base.
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[edit] Etymology
Hærens Jegerkommando directly translated to English means:
- "the Army's"( Hærens ) +
- "hunter/huntsman (which in Norwegian military terminology, relates to scouts (involved in reconnaissance))" ( Jeger- ) +
- "an administrative/operative command" ( -kommando ).
English translations of the unit's name, include:
- "Army's Special Forces Command", "Army's Reconnaissance Command", "Army's Ranger[disambiguation needed
] Command" or possibly "Army Huntsmen Command")
[edit] History
[edit] Name changes
The unit was established as Hærens Fallskjermjegerskole in 1962.[1] The unit was renamed Hærens Jegerskole in 1968, and its location was Trandum (near Jessheim).[1] Today's name was reached in 1997.
[edit] Headquarters
Headquarters are at Rena leir military base, which received its first active units in 1997 after the base had been constructed in 1993–96.
[edit] Organization
HJK is a special unit.[1] (Another special unit is, MJK (Marinejegerkommandoen). )[1]
HJK has a large HQ unit and a paratrooper unit, which trains personnel from all branches of the Norwegian military organization in parachute operations. The Pathfinder platoon is part of the HJK training cadre and consists of conscripts deemed suitable for service in the unit after a selection period. The role of this unit is to annually train one platoon of jump-qualified recce soldiers.
[edit] Chain of command
The Hærens Jegerkommando together with the Forsvarets Spesialkommando are under a command named FSK-HJK.[2] The FSK-HJK itself is under direct command of the General Inspector of the Army.[3]
[edit] Missions outside of Norway
[edit] In Kosovo
HJK was the first special forces unit to enter Pristina. The HJK's mission was to level the negotiating field between the belligerent parties, and to fine-tune the detailed, local deals needed to implement the peace deal between the Serbians and the Kosovo Albanians.[4]
[edit] In Afghanistan
On 23 July 2007 HJK lieutenant Tor Arne Lau Henriksen was killed in a short and intense close quarters engagement between a Norwegian special forces reconnaissance patrol and hostile fighters in Logar Province, Afghanistan.[5][6]
William H. McRaven a United States Navy vice admiral, who serves as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)said in an interview with a Norwegian newspaper in 2007 that he regarded the Special forces of Norway to be among the top special forces in the world and that one of his favourite operations was the Norwegian heavy water sabotage by the Norwegian resistance forces during World War II .[7]
[edit] Commanding officers
- Dag Garshol (from 2008 until present)[8]
- Torgeir Gråtrud (from 2004–2008)[8][9]
- Lieutenant Colonel Karl Egil Hanevik(1996[n 1] -2004)[9][10]
[edit] Weapons
P80 - Pistol
Heckler & Koch USP Tactical 9mm - Pistol- Heckler & Koch MP5 - Submachine gun
- Heckler & Koch MP7 - Submachine gun
Benelli M1 Super 90 - Shotgun
Diemaco C8 SFW - Assault rifle- Heckler & Koch HK-416 - Assault Rifle
kongsberg vapenfabrikk AG-3 - Battle Rifle- Heckler & Koch HK417D20RS - Sniper rifle
- MSG-90A1 - Sniper rifle
Sako TRG-42 - Sniper rifle
Accuracy International AWMF - Sniper Rifle
Barrett M82A1 - Anti-materiel rifle
FN Minimi 5,56 Para TR - LMG- Rheinmetall MG3 - GPMG
- Browning M2 - HMG
- AG-C - Grenade launcher
- Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikker M72 - Light anti-armor weapon
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle - Recoilless rifle- M-DN61 - Hand grenade
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d http://www.milnytt.no/Default.asp?layout=article&id=1034
- ^ http://www.mil.no/haren/hjk/start/;jsessionid=VHOHYXD2LTOKNQFIZYGSFEQ?_requestid=24611
- ^ http://www.mil.no/haren/start/org/start/;jsessionid=1PNINBX3S5AUFQFIZYGSFEQ?_requestid=21202
- ^ Tom Bakkeli - Norges Hemmelige Krigere ( ISBN 978-82-489-0722-0 )
- ^ Aftenposten Newspaper article: "Special forces soldier killed in Afghanistan" (English)
- ^ Aftenposten Newspaper article: "Fallen soldier comes home" (English)
- ^ http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/artikkel.php?artid=10093179
- ^ a b http://www.mil.no/start/article.jhtml?articleID=162458
- ^ a b http://www.mil.no/start/article.jhtml?articleID=81191
- ^ http://www.mil.no/start/aktuelt/nyheter/article.jhtml?articleID=47596
[edit] Notes
- ^ The reference lists years 1996 and(!) 1997 as the year he started to lead HJK.
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