Norwegians in Afghanistan--till Valhalla

[PapaJu]

Worthy of throwing the "warrior" tag in front of it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1eMONDyFRM&feature=player_embedded

[Day Man]

those are the kind of guys i would follow into battle...

[pawnman]

I've had the opportunity to work with them, and they are phenomenal. I'd buy them a drink in any bar in the world!

[contraildash]

We train up there every few months. Awesome country, even better people. Love Norway.

Edited May 7, 2011 by contraildash

[sky_king]

I hope to visit one day and see where my ancestors came from.

[brock]

We flew these guys for close to a year. Studs to say the least.

[MKopack]

Have to admit, I didn't know much about the Norwegian mission in Afghanistan, so this evening I did some reading - and I almost wish I hadn't when I saw this awful news from 01 April 2011. As many people as I know in the military, friends and acquaintances, I'd been lucky that the losses for nearly ten years of war hadn't hit "close to home" - until tonight.

Friday April 1st

Lieutenant Colonel Siri Skare (52) was killed during an attack on a UN-office in Mazar-e Sharif.

Siri Skare lived in Oslo, was married and had one child. She served in the UN operation UNAMA(United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) as a military advisor. Her background was from the Norwegian Air force and she was Norway's first female military aviator.

"It is tragic when we lose one of our own, but out thoughts now go to her friends and relatives. We still don’t know exactly what happened, but we are working on that", said chief of the Norwegian troops in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Knut Eide.

The aggressive riots started after what was a peaceful demonstration at the Blue Mosque in Mazar-e Sharif. About a thousand demonstrators gathered outside the end UNAMA headquarters and went to a violent attack on the building. In the attack several shots were fired inside the heaquarters. During this attack Lieutenant Colonel Siri Skare was killed along with several other people in the building.

UNAMA headquarters is located a few hundred yards from the Blue Mosque in the centre of Mazar-e Sharif. What started as a peaceful demonstration was a protest against Reverend Wayne Sapp who burned a copy of the Koran on March 2.

I knew Siri from my time at Lockheed Martin working on the Royal Norwegian Air Force's P-3 Orion UIP project. Launched and recovered her acft many times during test flights here in the States, and we'd kept in touch, on and off, over the past ten years or so.

Lt. Col. Skare was the very first female RNoAF pilot, earning her wings in 1984, and spending her time flying P-3's and C-130's. She lost her life while serving her country as a military advisor to the United Nations in Afghanistan after an idiot preacher in Florida decided to "make a point" by burning a book. What a waste.

Til Valhall / Till Valhalla, Siri, I'll keep the 333 Squadron patches you gave me forever.

[Stitch]

...they are phenomenal. I'd buy them a drink in any bar in the world!

Remember these guys are decendents of the Vikings (the REAL ones, NOT the ones in Minnesota) those guys set the standard for bada$$.

[Prosuper]

Remember these guys are decendents of the Vikings (the REAL ones, NOT the ones in Minnesota) those guys set the standard for bada$$.

Actually if you listen to Icelandics speak that is to believed what the Vikings actual language and their direct decendents, Norwegians can't understand them or translate Icelandic for you. But the Norwegians sure gave the Wehrmacht fits.

[Royal]

Did anyone catch the video that has the alleged interpretation of this dude's speech?

"You are the hunters; you are the predators; Taliban is the prey. To Valhall!"

Solid.

[Clayton Bigsby]

Amon Amarth = rad viking heavy metal. Swedish tho. Just sayin.

[spudsmac]

Awesome Finnish AF recruiting video. I know it's not Norwegian, but still cool.

BTW, there are sometimes NSFW ads on there.

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=981_1305541825

[PapaJu]

General Scandinavian military thread now?

Interesting debate about "castrating" the lion on a Swedish military crest--afaik they've since gone back to the original version: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/29/heraldic_lion_rumpus/