Forsvarets Spesialkommando

Introduction

Very little is known publicly about FSK, since the Norwegian government denied their existence and participation in any military operations for a long time. Some details have however emerged after FSK's participation in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The establishment of FSK was briefly mentioned in an article in the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, in 1983. During a hijacking in Norway in 1985, it was reported that FSK operatives had been put on alert in their base at Trandum, but not requested to assist in any action. A proposal to disband the FSK in 1988, as a financial measure, was met with protests, especially from the oil industry and the military. The plan was shelved after much media attention. Aftenposten reported on the unit as a "special military command composed of highly trained operators from Hærens Jegerkommando at Trandum and Marinejegerkommandoen, in addition to other specialists.

The first time FSK was publicly mentioned by a representative of the armed forces, was in connection with the hijacking of SAS Flight 347 at Gardermoen Airport in September 1993. The following year, the magazine Vi Menn published an article about the FSK. In 1990 the FSK was also mentioned in a research paper: "The Armed Forces' Special Command (FSK) is specially trained to be used in the event of terrorist attacks against oil installations - especially hijacking situations." FSK's existence was only publicly acknowledged by the Norwegian Armed Forces for the first time in 1999, when a piece about the unit appeared in the Armed Forces Magazine Forsvarets Forum (The Defence Forum).

FSK cooperate with special operations forces from several other countries, including the Special Air Services (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) of the United Kingdom, Delta Force and Navy SEALs / DEVGRU of the United States, and KSK and GSG-9 of Germany.

History

Forsvarets Spesialkommando can trace its roots back to the Second World War, when Norwegians served in the British Special Operations Executive (Norwegian Independent Company 1), Independent Parachute Company 1 and No. 5 Troop 10 Interallied Commando.

In 1953, the Norwegian Armed Forces started training frogmen and on 25 March 1962 the Army Parachute Ranger School (Hærens Fallskjermjegerskole) was created. The focus of this school initially was to provide parachute training for certain groups of personnel within the Norwegian Armed Forces, and eventually the Parachute Ranger Platoon (Fallskjermjegertroppen) was established in 1965. Specially selected personnel from this platoon were assigned to Ranger Command 1 in the old mobilization army of the Cold War and were on standby in case of war.

In 1971, the Army Parachute Ranger School changed its name to the Army Ranger School (Hærens Jegerskole), to emphasize the training of Army Rangers. Based on an increase in international terrorism and Norway's newly developed offshore oil services, the government decided in 1979 to establish a counter-terrorism capacity within the Norwegian Armed Forces. This task was given to the Army Ranger School, and Forsvarets Spesialkommando was born in 1982 – as part of the Army Ranger School.

From the mid-1990s there was an increasing focus on international operations. To show that the Army Ranger School now had an operative arm as well as the traditional training role, it changed its name to the Army Ranger Command (Hærens Jegerkommando) in 1997. The same year, HJK moved from Trandum to Rena, where the unit is based today.

During the 2000s, HJK changed its name to FSK/HJK, to reflect the two units that make up the command (FSK being the operative wing and HJK being the training wing). Since 2013–2014, the FSK/HJK name has been discontinued and the operative SOF-unit is simply known as FSK.

Today

FSK has gone from being a cadre and training-unit for paratroopers and the mobilization army, to being a professional unit with substantial experience, robustness, competency and capacity. The unit has been deployed internationally on several occasions and has received international recognition for its efforts.

The unit has a considerable amount of support from Norway's political and military leaders. The Norwegian Parliament has decided that the Norwegian SOF are to be strengthened.

FSK recruits, selects and trains paratroopers and SOF operators, and produces officers for the rest of the Norwegian Armed Forces.

FSK is on both national and international standby for special operations and counter-terrorism operations (alongside Marinejegerkommandoen). In addition, FSK is the competency and training centre for all parachute and counter-terrorism training in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

Kosovo

FSK and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) cooperated in various ways during the Kosovo conflict. FSK, operating alongside the British SAS, was the first special operations force to enter Pristina. FSK'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.

Afghanistan

FSK supported Coalition Special Operations Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan as part of Task Force K-Bar. They have carried out missions in the Helmand and Uruzgan provinces of South Afghanistan.

More recently, FSK has had the main responsibility in training the Afghan National Police Crisis Response Unit in Kabul, under the command of the International Security Assistance Force.

Forsvarets Spesialkommando's Role

"Forsvarets spesialkommando (FSK) has a role in the Norwegian Armed Forces' independent responsibility to handle an act of terrorism that is considered an "armed attack" on Norway, but also has a dedicated mission to support the police in the event counter-terrorism operations at sea. FSK may further assist the police on land." - Norwegian Parliamentary Statement 29 and e-mail address.

In wartime, their tasks are mainly:

Selection and training

Currently anyone who has completed their military service with Norwegian Armed Forces can apply.

The road to becoming an elite soldier of the FSK is long and hard. First, one must go through a General selection to separate out those who do not have physical and mental strength to start the special forces recruitment school. This selection lasts three days. A candidate must do 45 push-ups and 50 sit-ups in two minutes, 8 pull-ups, swim 400 meters in under 11 minutes, and march 30 kilometers carrying 25 kilograms for 4 hours and 50 minutes. It is emphasized that this is the bare minimum, and that candidates should ideally be able to do more than that.

After passing the general selections, an applicant attends SOF selection. This selection lasts three weeks and comprises hard physical and mental exercises with little food and little sleep. Very few of those who enter the school get through.

Following selection, the potential operator start basic training (one year). This training involves all basic disciplines required to serve as a SOF operator. Not all who begin basic training get through. After training, one is eligible for operational service in FSK, including training in specialist roles, such as sniper, combat medic, forward air controller, etc. Further training is conducted in Norway or abroad at allied training facilities.

Safety violations

During an FSK training mission former United States Air Force Lieutenant colonel Kevin Thilgman, died in 2010 when their boat capsized at a speed above 50 knots. A number of safety procedures had been violated, when the "newly" acquired boat was being demonstrated without testing being completed in advance.

Former commanding officers

Former commanding officers of FSK include:

Weapons

The soldiers are trained in the use of these weapons:

Vehicles