Currently NATO is considering the possibility of setting up a Nordic Combined Air Operations Centre, although the location has yet to be determined. Meanwhile, local politicians are advocating for the new Air Command to be situated within the existing military facilities in Northern Norway. The heads of the northern counties of Norway and the mayors of towns believe it would be a defense policy scandal if it does not happen. However, Norwegian military and higher-ranking politicians hold a different view.
Mayor of Sørreisa in Midt-Troms, Jan-Eirik Nordahl. Inside the mountain in Sørreisa in Midt-Troms seen behind the mayor is the Norwegian Air Force's control and warning center. Photo: Kari Anne Skoglund / NRK
The Norwegian Air Force's control and warning centre (Joint Air Operation Centre, JAOC) is located inside the mountain in Sørreisa in Midt-Troms.
Here, all air traffic over and in the vicinity of Norway is monitored.
This centre is responsible for reporting any foreign aircraft observed in Norwegian airspace to the Norwegian Armed Forces' operational headquarters in Bodø. The decision is then made as to whether military fighter planes will be sent out to act as a deterrent to the aircraft in question.
Work is currently being done to bring a new, Nordic NATO air command to Norway.
Several people point to the fact that the NATO center should be located in Sørreisa and Bodø, if it is located in Norway.
I would say that it will be a defense policy scandal if it does not happen. A scandal on a par with when Bodø was closed down as a combat aircraft base, and the closure on Andøya, says the mayor of Sørreisa, Jan Eirik Nordahl. Read more here.
Nikolai André Valvik, the Air Force's Chief Trustee for the Command's joint organisation, is careful not to point to one specific location for a possible NATO centre.
But they see clear advantages in using existing locations, in Sørreisa and Bodø.
The infrastructure, expertise and experience are already present here. From a socio-economic point of view, it is beneficial to continue here.
There are good reasons to continue using the facilities we already have operational, says Varvik.
Chief trustee for the Command's joint organisation, Nikolai André Valvik. Photo: Kari Anne Skoglund / NRK
He says they receive feedback that employees are worried and frustrated about experiencing uncertainty about the process.
What we are concerned about is that we must have an open and good process, where all employees are heard. There is uncertainty about the process, says the chief trustee. If there have been processes about it, we have not been part of it. We are concerned that if such processes take place, we will be involved.
The Sørreisa mayor believes that the only logical place for NATO's new venture is the Norwegian station that has operated with control and warning in the Air Force for over 60 years.
Nordahl fears that establishment in another city could come at the expense of the facility in his municipality.
This is where we have NATO's best and most modern mountain facility. And this is where we have the knowledge of the Nordic region and the Arctic, he says.
The mayor believes that the new NATO flag should be raised at the Air Force facility in Sørreisa. Photo: Kari Anne Skoglund / NRK
But there is more than the professional environment, the knowledge and the facility in the mountains that he points to.
We have an unstable neighbor to the east. It is therefore important to be present in the Arctic and the northern region, where we live and have the knowledge.
He says he is concerned that processes are underway to bring the new NATO air operations centre to central East Norway.
The mayor believes that work should rather be done with recruitment measures in the north.
At the same time, he recognizes that Sørreisa is not the world's navel, and understands that young officers may want city life.
But we try every day to make life easier for everyone who lives and stays here. We have a new school, full nursery coverage and we have many good cultural offers that employees can take part in, says Nordahl.
The Defense Forum (Forsvarsforum Nord) is a meeting place for political coordination between the county councils in the North, defense municipalities and regional councils in Troms and Finnmark, as well as northern Nordland.
Earlier this autumn, Forsvarsforum Nord issued a demand that a new NATO air command should be stationed in Bodø and Sørreisa.
The county mayors in Troms and Finnmark and the county council leader in Nordland believe that the Nordic area policy must be lifted from words to action in this matter.
Country council leader in Nordland, Svein Øien Eggesvik here together with Bodø mayor Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen. Photo: Jan Langhaug / NTB
It is a security policy and a professional military position that a multinational air command must be located in Bodø and on Sørreisa, says head of the county council in Nordland, Svein Eggesvik.
The colleague in Troms, county mayor Kristina Torbergsen, points out that the war in Ukraine shows the security policy need to strengthen the northern area.
She believes that it is strengthened by the fact that Finland and Sweden have joined NATO.
These are key development features that also affect the scope of opportunities in the north, she says.
County mayor in Troms, Kristina Torbergsen. Photo: Pål Hansen / NRK
Acting head of the Joint Operation Centre, Colonel Michael Baas Bottenvik-Hartmann, denies that city elections are a process that takes place in the Air Force.
The Air Force leadership wants to have a planned third air operations center for NATO located in Norway. Back is one of several possible alternatives that have been considered. If they move the air operations center to Norway, it will have great strategic importance for the country, he says.
Acting head of the Joint Air Operation Center, Colonel Michael Baas Bottenvik-Hartmann. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden
Bottenvik-Hartmann says the Air Force is not part of the process that takes place in NATO.
At the same time, he says that it is understandable that employees may experience uncertainty.
We now assume that a decision can be made next year. If we receive a formal assignment, we will involve the employees and employee organisations, in line with the rules in working life, he says.
In any case, it is up to the Ministry of Defense and the Storting to decide where Norway wants to place a possible NATO air command.
Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram tells NRK that at the present time they do not want to take part in the localization debate.
We must first get clarification on whether there will be a new NATO air command. We also have to look at the premises that are being used as a basis, how extensive it will be and what kind of facilities are needed.
At the same time, the minister says that he understands that there is involvement in the matter.
Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram. Photo: Hans L. Andreassen / NRK
But we have no plans to reduce some activity in Sørreisa or in the north, says Gram.
In an email, they stated that the concept of a Nordic air operations centre was tested during the exercise Nordic Response this winter. As of today, no decisions have been made regarding the establishment of the centre.
Source: NRK
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