Thank you for lending me your employee

By: Major General Elisabeth Michelsen, Chief of the National Guard

This is a comment. It is the views of the writer that are expressed.

On December 4 of this year, a “uniform day at work” will be organized for the first time in the National Guard (HV). The day, in which it is voluntary to participate, is intended for all those who belong to the National Guard and who have received permission from their civilian workplace to wear the uniform at work.

Students are also encouraged to don their uniform on Friday, December 4th.

The National Guard does this because we want to make visible to Norway what HV is and what people make up the National Guard. I hope that day will generate interest and enthusiasm in both the National Guard and the Armed Forces.

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The 40,000 soldiers who make up HV are in daily civilian life, with the common background that they have completed their first service. In the event of crisis or war, it is they who put on the uniform and must help defend the country close to their place of origin. It’s the local connection that makes Home Guard unique. The Home Guard is where you live.

Soldiers in HV are not usually as visible as the rest of the Armed Forces, as they have civilian jobs or are students in everyday life. I think “uniform at work” day will show most people that the Armed Forces through HV are still nationwide and have a relatively large volume of geographically distributed soldiers. This, in turn, will contribute to understanding and increasing interest in the Armed Forces and the will to defend. For the Armed Forces, the National Guard is an important bridge between the army and civil society.

Maybe the Armed Forces will go back to being something you talk about at the kitchen table, like you did before when “everyone” had to enter the service for the first time. The interest and the debate around the Armed Forces and the National Guard are important.

It is local knowledge and local commitment that makes HV unique. Proximity and local connection provide the opportunity to react quickly and be among the first when something happens. If Norway has to show its military readiness, help civil authorities in crisis such as floods, landslides or exploration operations. Or like now during the corona pandemic, where the soldiers of the National Guard are very vulnerable and support the police to help society. And now we see again that HV soldiers help the police with greater border and people control along the border with Sweden.

I want National Guard soldiers to wear their uniforms with pride, and I hope the “Labor Day Uniform” will show colleagues, friends, family, and other people across the country that HV is a part of national emergency preparedness. And that way you get recognition for your efforts as an HV soldier. Visibility and recognition are important.

The day is also about making it clear to employers that the employee with their HV experience is a resource, who may have taken various courses through Home Guard that can also be used in civil work.

As Chief of the National Guard, I am very grateful to be able to lend your employee a few days a year for training or annual courses. Annual training is important for the Home Guard to be tangible and relevant. Perhaps the soldier will also return after annual employee training with more skills than your company needs.

With “uniform on labor day,” I want to show the employer that you have an important national resource for emergency preparedness in your organization. HV soldiers are often highly skilled specialists.

I hope that “uniform day at work” on Friday, December 4, will make you as employers appreciate that the employee is important to the national emergency and thus encourage employees to wear uniforms at work this Friday if possible.

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