The Norwegian authorities are now considering whether the US Navy Corps will have to assemble their European exercise activity at Værnes in Trøndelag.
“We are happy to have you here. It’s important that you train and practice with our forces, and we hope to have an answer for you in a short space of time,’’ said State Secretary, Tone Skogen of Høyre (H) to Colonel Doug Bruun on Thursday,wrote Adresseavisen newspaper.
Bruun is the head of the American Rotary Force at Værnes and met Skogen and Høyre representatives, Guro Angell Gimse and Elin Agdestein on Thursday.
Tone Skogen didn’t want to go into more detail about when clarification can be made, or whether it would be politically treated before or after the summer.
“It is primarily up to the government to deal with the matter.Then, the parliament will be informed,” she said.
The US training activities in Norway are governed by the Rotary Force at the Black Sea in Romania, where the naval corps is the main base for practice in Europe. It is this force the Navy Corps want to gather at Værnes. Colonel Doug Bruun stated that there will be about 650 naval soldiers in total.
A battalion battle group of just over 300 men is stationed today at Værnes. The first contingent came in January 2017,and the soldiers at Værnes are now on the third rotation.
Værnes will be the base for 3,500 American troops this autumn in connection with the Trident Juncture exercise.The exercise starts in October, and a total of 10,000 US
Navy soldiers will participate.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
