Trond André Bolle (5 July 1968 – 27 June 2010) was a Norwegian military officer and a

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

Marinejegerkommandoen ''Marinejegerkommandoen'' (MJK) ( en, Naval Special Operations Command) is the maritime/naval special warfare unit of the Norwegian Armed Forces and was established in 1953. The MJK is under the command of the Norwegian Special Operations Com ...

(Norwegian Navy Special Operations Command, NORNAVSOC), with the rank of '' orlogskaptein''. He was awarded the War Cross.

Career

Commander Bolle was awarded the War Cross with Sword (posthumously) on 21 January 2011. The decision was announced by the Minister of Defence,

Grete Faremo Grete Faremo (born 16 June 1955) is a Norwegian politician, lawyer and business leader. From August 2014 to May 2022, she held the post of Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). ...

, shortly after the cabinet session the same day. Cmdr. Bolle receives the award for his actions and behaviour during his command of the Norwegian Special Operations Force Task Group II in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan's

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...

province from October 2005 to February 2006. According to the Minister of Defence, Cmdr Bolle performed "above and beyond the call of duty" on numerous occasions during this period, his leadership was described as "exemplary". He "was a part" of intelligence agency E 14.

Transport of children out of Morocco

He and three other former members of E14 (an intelligence organization), smuggled the two children of Khalid Skah and Cecilie Hopstock out of Morocco, in 2009.

Death

Commander Trond André Bolle was killed on 27 June 2010, in an IED incident in Afghanistan's

Faryab Faryab (Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. The pr ...

province. Three other ISAF-soldiers from Norway were also killed in the incident, which happened on the road between Khwaja Gawhar and Almar Bazar. The vehicle was the last vehicle in a column of four vehicles. This award marks the first award of the War Cross with Sword for actions performed after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The award was presented on Veterans day (also

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...

), 8 May 2011.

References

Norwegian spies 1968 births 2010 deaths People from Vestby People from Østre Toten Royal Norwegian Navy personnel Norwegian military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) {{norway-mil-bio-stub