– Long-term plan still weak – NRK Troms and Finnmark – Local news, TV and radio

The government will spend 8.3 billion more on the Armed Forces in 2021 and 16.5 billion more in 2028 on the Armed Forces.

The financial framework for the long-term plan is therefore the same as before. No more personnel are promised in the new and revised defense plan.

– The government works with determination to strengthen both social security and state security. We want to create a safer Norway. Norway must be prepared to deal with crises, serious incidents and threats. Working with security and emergency preparedness is something the government has had on the agenda for several years, says Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen.

Will further develop the Northern Brigade

The government will further develop the Northern Brigade into a mechanized brigade with four battalions with a center of gravity in Inner Troms.

– Strengthening the Northern Brigade increases the ability of the Armed Forces to prevent or slow down an opponent from taking control of Norwegian territory until allied forces are in place. It will also allow us to increase Norway’s efforts in the NATO contingency initiative, says the Defense Minister.

The government announces that it will purchase new tanks from 2025 and plans to present the project to the Storting in 2021. At the same time, the government will accelerate the procurement of long-range precision weapons for the Army from 2028 to 2026.

– We will also continue to build Finnmark’s ground defense, says the Defense Minister.

– Long-term plan still weak

Union leader Torbjørn Bongo from the Norwegian Officials and Specialists Union (NOF) is disappointed with the long-term plan and believes it is too weak.

– The proposal remains below the lowest alternative of the Chief of Defense in RMF 2019, and well below the alternative that the Chief of Defense deemed necessary for the Armed Forces to resolve certain assignments, he says.

Bongo is particularly concerned that the Army is not getting strong enough.

– The main concern of the NOF is a very inadequate staff strengthening, too slow and too little strengthening of the army, unrealistic efficiency cuts, hidden privatizations in strategic cooperation and no measures to strengthen incentives for staff to want to stay in the Armed Forces. We risk weakening the defense for the next 10 years.

The original plan was sent in exchange

The original plan was presented in April. However, the opposition in the Storting thought the plan was too vague and returned it with eight binding demands on the government.

It had never happened before.

Too weak, lack of commitment to the Army and that decisions are postponed in time, was part of the criticism.

At the top of the list for the Labor Party, the Progress Party, the Center Party and the Socialist People’s Party was the demand that the eight-year time horizon, which the government proposed, be shortened.

In addition, the opposition demanded that the long-term plan be more concrete with time and numbers.

Among other things, the government was asked to draw up a concrete escalation plan for the number of employees in the Armed Forces.

– It must be much more concrete

When the original plan was presented, it was answered, among other things, that the government submitted to the lowest recommendation from the Chief of Defense.

Several politicians in northern Norway agreed to a joint document calling for a greater military commitment.

Bardu Mayor Toralf Heimdal of the Center Party says the revised plan should be much more specific when it comes to increasing staff and buying equipment.

– The most important thing to me is that you get a binding plan on how you intend to implement the staff increases and how you intend to acquire equipment, as well as how you intend to expand the property, buildings and facilities in what will eventually become a Northern Brigade in all rule, he says.

– The only requirement that NATO has for Norway is that we must have a full-fledged mechanized brigade with four maneuver battalions, and if this is going to be ready in 2026, it must start now immediately, and then it must have a plan for the .