Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK) is a Norwegian maritime and coastal-oriented special force formally established in 1951. It is divided into two operative units, one of which is located in Ramsund in the northern part of Norway and the other at the Haakonsvern Navy base in Bergen.
As is expected from any special forces, the training to become a MJK operative is long and arduous, taking two years and then further augmented by courses taken during the following four-year contract period, such as field medical training, sniper training and forward air control (FAC) training. As of recently, all MJK personnel are assigned as officers and are put through the required courses in order to qualify. This is to maintain a level of authority and operational independency in relations to other, non-special forces units.
Marinjegerkommandoen's participation in international operations
MJK has participated in a number of international operations, most notably and most recently in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, not once, but twice. First deployed in 2002, and then subsequently in 2003, MJK’s contribution is primarily unknown, but from what is available, its missions have included DA (Direct Action), Forward Air Control (FAC) and SR (Special Surveillance and Reconnaissance), assisting US troops in the fight against Taliban.
With the majority of the Norwegian public moderately to strongly disinclined towards the US military interventions in the Central-Asian and Middle-Eastern regions, the realisation that Norwegian troops were in a shooting war came as a shock to many. Several political parties made it their cause to see the withdrawal of all Norwegian troops in the 2005 national elections, though their progress is still confined to inter-party debate as of October ‘05.
Despite these domestic disagreements, the MJK has been set in readiness for a third deployment to Afghanistan, and it seems likely that they will have a third tour of duty, making them the most experienced combat troops Norway has to offer.
Their participation in Afghanistan was been rewarded by the Navy Presidential Unit Citation on February 8th ’05 on grounds of their, and it is the first time since the Vietnam war the citation is given to a special forces. This is the second highest award one can receive in the US.
External links
Marinejeger (Maintained by MJK, but not officially recognised – in norwegian)