Kristoffersen enrolled in non-commissioned officers' in 1988 and served as squad leader in the Engineer Battalion. After a few months studying engineering in college, he returned to military service in 1989 and served as squad leader in a pioneer platoon in UNIFIL (1991-1992).
From 1995-2000 he held several positions in the Reconnaissance Battalion, and underwent a selection process for FSK in 2000. In 2001 he was sent to Afghanistan as part of Operation Anaconda and also served in Lebanon.[2]
He spent 12 years in FSK between 2000 and 2014, rising in the ranks from patrol member to commander. In 2014, he was appointed deputy Commander Norwegian Special Operations Command, before heading to Norwegian Joint Headquarters.
On 30 October 2022, Norwegian media said that Kristoffersen's narrative regarding the one operation (of two) for which he received the War Cross with Sword - is wrong; a September 2007 operation (in Tagab Valley) of which Kristoffersen was its operations officer,[6] did not capture a Taliban leader; the intended goal of the operation was Qari Nejat (a Taliban leader) but instead the wrong man was arrested.[7]The Norwegian Foreign Service including its embassy in Kabul,[8] knew that the wrong man was arrested, and so did Norwegian Intelligence Service; Kristoffersen says that he was never informed that the wrong man was arrested.[7]
The leader of the committee that gave War Cross with Sword - to Kristoffersen, said that we[7] would never have given the medal if we had known that the wrong man was arrested. Previously, in a September 2022 interview, Kristoffersen said that after having read a Dagbladet article in 2009 - by Anders Sømme Hammer - that told about the 17 September 2007 arrest - in Tagab Valley, of Mohammed Naseem - Kristoffersen's conclusion was that "we still had arrested a person that two independent sources and intelligence, indicated was a Taliban leader in the valley".[7]
An editorial in Klassekampen in October 2022, says that Kristoffersen's story is turned on its head, because it was a bricklayer who was mistakenly arrested - not a Taliban leader; furthermore, the wrong story contributed to Kristoffersen being conferred the War Cross with Sword, and that contributed to his [quick or] "lightning-career" to the top; furthermore, his story was highlighted by the government-instigated Godal-commission which in 2016 evaluated Norway's military effort in Afghanistan - therefore the information in this affair is more than just a [blemish or] scratch on Kristoffersen's resumé - it's also a problem for the official story about Norway's effort in Afghanistan.[8]
Reactions from members of Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence: In November, Ingrid Fiskaa said that it is quite odd and disturbing that central[10] information about arresting the wrong person, does not reach the forces who performed the operation - and the Norwegian Armed Forces in general. Bjørnar Moxnes said that for 15 years, Norwegian authorities have celebrated this operation as a great victory, while our closest allies all along have known that this was a whopping failure in which considerable military resources were used to imprison an impoverished Afghan; furthermore, Norway's official Afghanistan-investigation made a success-story out of the operation in which Norwegian special forces with American support, exploded their way into a house with women and children and abducted an Afghani bricklayer in the belief that he was a Taliban leader.[10]MPs have demanded that the armed forces and the defense ministry, get to the bottom of what went wrong - and why the mistake did not get known.[11]
An editorial in Klassekampen in November 2022, said that American soldiers knew within hours of the operation, that the wrong person had been arrested; furthermore, information about that was swiftly shared with Norwegian forces and Norway's embassy; furthermore, there were more details about the operation: plastic handcuffs were used on all the people living in the house from which the bricklayer was removed.[12] Furthermore, VG (newspaper) leaned heavily[12] on to classified information from Afghan War documents leak to unravel the events and the timelines of the military operation.
Later in November, an article by Kristoffersen was printed by various media; furthermore, Kristoffersen said that he has never read the justification for his War Cross with Sword; furthermore, Kristoffersen gave his view of the military operation: "The American special forces that were with us, were a small detachment that were given permission at the last moment to be with us on this operation, to gain firsthand experience with a large and complex operation" by special forces; furthermore, the American forces "were not with us, for my personal safety"; furthermore, he said that our soldiers were there for almost 20 years and now the Taliban rule, therefore it is likely that everyone that our special forces contributed to having imprisoned, has been released.[13] Furthermore he said about the prisoner: "I don't know why he later moved or why he finally was killed".[13]
Mohammed Naseem was killed in 2010; in 2011 Norwegian media reported his death and that "therefore the lawsuit" would not materialize; later in 2011 Kristoffersen got War Cross with Sword.[7]
Regarding the operation in 2007 - media have been told that the [ After-action review report or] "Post operations report"[14] had the classification [secret or] hemmelig. However, some time after Kristoffersen's article (of 2022), Forsvarets Spesialkommando told media that the post operations report instead had the classification NATO SECRET; furthermore, the report has to stay classified because of the slide film presentation in the report; furthermore, for NATO to declassify the report - all 30 NATO member countries have to approve; furthermore, what is written in the report, the Norwegian Armed Forces does not want to reveal (as of January 2023).[14]
In February 2023, media said that the armed forces is not revealing which colleague of Kristoffersen, wrote the recommendation (in January 2010) that Kristoffersen should get "a medal of valor"; furthermore, the identity of the two superior officers that gave support to the recommendation, is still being withheld (as of Q4 2023);[15] one of the latter added a disclaimer (or reservation)[16] to the support: "however",[16] the council that decides should consider if the war cross with sword is (really) the right award.
As of December 2023, the Minister of Defence is refusing to release information that will answer three specific questions from Ingrid Fiskaa, MP.[17]
In January 2024, the media reported information from the Norwegian base within Camp Warehouse, staffed by soldiers from Forsvarets Spesialkommando and Norwegian Intelligence Service. Three soldiers confirmed that information had arrived at the base that the wrong person was arrested, while a fourth said there was conversation that they had taken the wrong person.[18]
Kristoffersen does not want to tell media, if the name of Qari Nejat, was removed from Joint Prioritized Effects List by Norwegian soldiers (after a different person (the bricklayer) was arrested in 2007); persons on that list, had their name removed from there when they got captured or killed; in January 2024, a retired U.S. Lieutenant Colonel (Shawn Dalrymple) said that Nejat's name was not removed from the Joint Prioritized Effects List.[19]
As of February 2024, the Minister of Defence has declined being interviewed about the controversy.[20] Three political parties are demanding[21] (as of February), answers from the defence minister: the Socialist Left Party, Venstre, and KrF. The leader of parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence said that the Conservative Party's view is that the Ministry of Defence, should be as open about the matter, as possible.[22] However, Kristoffersen said (March 2024) that the name used (regarding the arrestee), in the report to headquarters in Norway, was Mohammad Naseem.[23]
The Defence University College's chief instructor (hovedlærer) of Leadership, Jostein Mattingsdal, said in March 2024, that the news articles are "a sad chapter of the Armed Forces".[24]
Military education
1988–1989 Non-commissioned officers' training school, 1992–1995 Military Academy, Army, 2008–2009 USMC Command and Staff College, 2014–2015 United States Army War College.
Authorship
Kristoffersen wrote the book Jegerånden- Å lede i fred, krise og krig [ The Jäger spirit – to lead in peace, crisis and war] (2020).[25]
Awards and decorations
Kristoffersen is one of Norway's most highly decorated soldiers still on active duty.[26] He has received the following awards:[3]
U.S. Army War College International Fellows Hall of Fame
The Norwegian Defence Gender Equality Award
Personal life
Kristoffersen lives with his wife Linn-Therece Johansen Kristoffersen and has four children from two former marriages.[28] His interests include hunting and football.[29]
The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees. 600 personnel also serve their draft period in the RNoAF. After mobilization, the RNoAF would consist of approximately 5,500 personnel.
The Norwegian Armed Forces is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Home Guard, and Norwegian Cyber Defence Force as well as several joint departments.
Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK) is the maritime/naval special warfare unit of the Norwegian Armed Forces and was established in 1953.
The Telemark Bataljon is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Norwegian Army. It was established in 1993, and is a part of Brigade Nord and stationed at Rena, Hedmark. The battalion consists of five companies/squadrons.
The 2nd Battalion is an infantry unit of the Norwegian Army, based at camp Skjold in Troms county in Northern Norway. It serves in the light infantry role specialized in Arctic warfare as part of Brigade Nord; the battalion is one of three manoeuvre battalions within the brigade, along with Telemark Battalion and Panserbataljonen. The 2nd Battalion serves two roles, primarily being organised for domestic defence; however, during Norway's contribution to the NATO forces in Afghanistan, the 2nd Battalion played a vital role. The 2nd Battalion also contributed consistently to the ISAF forces in northern Afghanistan, supporting an elite trained light infantry, organized as a Quick Reaction Force (QRF).
Hærens Jegerkommando (HJK) was a special forces unit of the Norwegian military. It was the armed forces competence centre for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters were located 30 kilometres north of Elverum in the southeast of Norway, at Rena leir military base. In 2006, the unit was merged with Forsvarets Spesialkommando/Special Operations Commando.
Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK) is a special operations force unit in the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Camp Warehouse was a International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) during the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). It was located 10 km east of Kabul, Kabul Province in Afghanistan. Initially constructed by German soldiers, Camp Warehouse was a major coordination centre for ISAF, hosting detachments from multiple countries. The base was used to co-ordinate multi-national forces in and around Kabul hosting equipment from a large number of countries in the multi-national force, as well as maintaining an ISAF Signal Operations Centre used for managing ISAF air sorties and patrols.
The War Cross with Sword is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary leadership during combat. A recipient deemed worthy of additional citations will receive up to an additional two swords on the medal ribbon in addition to the "standard" single sword. Additional citations are rare: Gunnar Sønsteby is the only person to have received the War Cross with three swords.
The Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) or Etterretningstjenesten is a Norwegian military intelligence agency under the Chief of Defence and the Ministry of Defence.
Bjørn Arild Gram is a Norwegian politician currently serving as minister of defence since 2022. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as minister of local government from 2021 to 2022.
Frank Bakke-Jensen is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He served as minister of defence from 2017 to 2021, and minister of European affairs from 2016 to 2017. He was mayor of Båtsfjord Municipality from 2007 until his election to the Storting from Finnmark in 2009. Bakke-Jensen formerly worked as a ship's electrician between Hammerfest and Tromsø, and has also worked as a teacher and self-employed pilot at Båtsfjord Airport. He has also performed military service in the UN Lebanon conflict.
The Structure of the Norwegian Army has seen considerable change over the years. In 2009, the Army introduced the new command and control organization. As of June 2021 the army is organized as follows:
The Provincial Reconstruction Team in Meymaneh was an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command; it existed between 2004 and 2012. It was classified by NATO, as a "Provincial Reconstruction Team". It consisted of soldiers and civilians from Norway, Latvia, Macedonia, Iceland and the United States. It conducts joint operations with Afghan Security Forces in Faryab province. It is led by ISAF and began its work in 2004 when they took over from the British. The camp was moved out of the city due to several attacks and a lack of space, in 2006. It is co-located with the airstrip, north of Meymaneh. Several "FOBs" are located in Ghormach and Qeysar districts, which the PRT share with Afghan soldiers.
People's Republic of China – Norway relations officially started on 7 October 1950 and shortly after established diplomatic missions on 5 October 1954.
Ila prison and detention center is a high security prison in Ila in Bærum municipality in Akershus county, outside the capital city of Oslo in Norway. It is the national preventive detention facility for men in Norway, i.e. the prison for men serving preventive detention (forvaring), Norway's maximum penalty. Ila generally houses the most dangerous criminals in Norway, who are convicted of violent and sexual crimes.
Jegertroppen is an all female special operations forces unit of the Special Operations Commando (FSK) of the Norwegian Special Operation Forces (NORSOF).
Emilie Enger Mehl is a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party. She has served as minister of justice since 2021 and member of parliament for Hedmark since 2017.
Eirik Jensen is a Norwegian convicted felon and former policeman who was found guilty of drug trafficking and corruption in 2017. Jensen was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum determinate penalty allowed by Norwegian law. In 2023, he was granted a temporary release from prison for six months; he is scheduled to return to prison in September 2023; he has petitioned that the temporary release gets extended.
Forsvarets spesialstyrker is a unit in the Norwegian Armed Forces with overall responsibility for the special forces.
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