Ranger Battalion GSV (, formerly known as the Garrison of Sør-Varanger) is a border guard light infantry battalion unit in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

that monitors the border between Norway and Russia. It is located at Høybuktmoen in

Sør-Varanger Municipality Sør-Varanger (; ; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kirkenes. Other settlements in the municipality include the vill ...

in Finnmark county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The military base sits adjacent to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen. The battalion consists of the Training Company (UTDKP), the Combat Support Company (KAMPSTØ), the Ranger Company (JGKP), and the border companies: the Jarfjord Ranger Company (JAR) and the Pasvik Ranger Company (PAS).

Mission

Two-part main mission

The Ranger Battalion GSV has a twofold main mission: A military and a non-military one. Both assignments are linked to 24/7 monitoring of the Norwegian-Russian border. *The military mission is to protect Norway's sovereignty, by safeguarding Norway's interests in the border area through presence, monitoring and reporting, and thereby form part of the military defense of Finnmark and Norway. *The civilian task is to monitor that the border agreement concluded in 1949 between Norway and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

is complied with. The assignment also includes monitoring the

Schengen area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

's outer border in the north, to prevent violations of the Border Act and Border Regulations. The border ranger act partly on behalf of the chief of police in the Finnmark Police District. They can thus take care of certain tasks that the police usually have, and consequently has limited police authority.

Service at GSV

The troops stationed at GSV mainly consists of

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

soldiers. Most of the soldiers are men, but there is also an increasing number of women represented. GSV receives about 400 new conscripts every six months. The first seven weeks of

recruit training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which Resocialization, resocializes its subjects for ...

, which is standard for all military personnel in Norway. After basic training, some of the soldiers are transferred to the garrison company to work in and around the garrison to support the education of the UTDKP, the border companies themselves and the mission-solvance of the GSV border companies. The rest of the soldiers stay in the education company to become border guards. After six months, through basic training, advanced training and specialist/designated training, the soldiers are divided up and sent to one of the two border stations. The border service requires physical and mental stamina, discipline and the ability to think, decide and initiate. The service requires individuals and units to operate independently. The soldiers deployed for border service are basically trained as reconnaissance rangers. Most of the time in the education company consist of field exercise, fire drills and role specialisation. At the border, the soldiers are divided into four-person patrol teams. A typical patrol team consist of one patrol commander corporal, one communications technician, one medical specialist and one scout. Not assigned, but perfectly available for the teams are canine corporals, responsible for handling and training the patrol canines, and transportation corporals, responsible for mobility, administrative tasks and maintenance. In addition, a portion of the border guards are assigned with a dual role; reconnaissance and operations headquarters, they also serve as regular border guards. The soldiers' main task is to function as border guards on the Russian border, guarding not only the border to a neighbouring country, but also the European border according to the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

. The new Ranger Company (JGKP) have anti-mobility (anti-tank) weapons like the

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

missile system, and also deploy AT mines.

Agencies performing border enforcement

Treaty and sovereignty enforcement of the Norwegian border to Russia is a three-agency operation. * Finnmark Police District: Responsible for prosecution, fines, and processing of illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, and border violations. * Norwegian Border Commission: The policy-making and diplomatic department. It arranges contact and meetings with its Russian counterpart, makes agreements and rules, and is a substantial part of the diplomatic process. *Ranger Battalion GSV: Responsible of military border patrol.

Border stations

*Jarfjord *Pasvik In addition to the border stations, some soldiers also staff the checkpoint at Storskog, the only legal crossing point between Norway and Russia. The checkpoint is also staffed by the Finnmark Police District, the Norwegian Customs Service, and the Norwegian Border Commission.

Notes

References

External links

Ranger Battalion GSV at Forsvaret.noNorwegian border commissioner official webpage
{{Authority control Army units and formations of Norway Border guards Law enforcement in Norway Military installations in Finnmark Military units and formations established in 1921 Norway–Russia border Sør-Varanger 1921 establishments in Norway