| Hærens Jegerkommando | |
|---|---|
|
File:FSK-HJK-logo.gif 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 centre for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters are located 30 kilometres north of Elverum in the southeast of Norway, at Rena leir military base.
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 Command" or possibly "Army Huntsmen Command")
History[]
Name changes[]
The unit was established as Hærens Fallskjermjegerskole in 1962.[1] It was renamed Hærens Jegerskole in 1968, and its location was Trandum (near Jessheim).[1] The unit's current name was decided in 1997.
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.
Organization[]
HJK is a special operations unit (SOF).[1] (Another special operations unit (SOF) 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.
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]
Missions outside of Norway[]
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 Serbian authorities and the Kosovo Albanians.[4]
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]
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]
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
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.mil.no/start/article.jhtml?articleID=162458
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.mil.no/start/article.jhtml?articleID=81191
- ↑ http://www.mil.no/start/aktuelt/nyheter/article.jhtml?articleID=47596
Notes[]
- ↑ The reference lists years 1996 and(!) 1997 as the year he started to lead HJK.
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The original article can be found at Hærens Jegerkommando and the edit history here.