Vedum: – Military preparedness is weakened
Sp-leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum believes Norway’s security and military preparedness is weakened. He is supported by General Lieutenant Robert Mood.
The two believe the long-term plan for the Armed Forces will make the situation worse, writes VG. Now Vedum calls for an emergency preparedness commission.
– There is no doubt that we have not been good enough on preparedness in Norway. Both the July 22 commission and the Office of the Auditor General show this. If we achieve Governmental power after the elections, we will therefore assemble a separate emergency commission, says Vedum. In addition to defense and police, it will look at digital security, electrical- , food- and water safety.
The former General Inspector for the Army, Robert Mood, also believes there are major shortcomings in the preparedness.
Member of the Centre Party
– The government itself describes major and critical deficiencies in the operational capacity of the defense. It is obvious from my point of view that we have major weaknesses. The sum of this means that a total preparedness commission is a very correct and important thought at the right time, says the retired General Lieutenant.
The Centre Party has been firmly against the long-term plan for the Armed Forces, which was adopted last year. Recently, former Defense Chief Harald Sunde became a member of the Centre Party, and Mood may well do the same.
– I have no immediate plans to do so. Hehe. But if Trygve continues to say so many sensible things, I will not rule it out, he says.
About Robert Mood (Wikipedia)
Robert Mood (born December 8, 1958 in Kragerø) is a Norwegian officer, with the rank of General Lieutenant. He has been General Inspector of the Army and, in 2012, was the head of the UN Observer Force in Syria (UNSMIS), after having previously been the head of the United Nations Observer Corps in the Middle East (UNTSO).
He was awarded the Fritt Ords Prize for 2016 “to have shown great opposition in critical debates about the role of the Armed Forces in society.”
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
