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Eirik Kristoffersen
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Eirik Kristoffersen
Eirik Johan Kristoffersen (born 3 April 1969) is a Norwegian Army General who serves as the head of the Norwegian Armed Forces. He is a former Chief of the Norwegian Army and Norwegian Home Guard, and Chief of the Armed Forces' Special Command (FSK). Kristoffersen is the first Norwegian Chief of Defence since World War II with battle experience. He was awarded the War Cross with Sword in 2011 for his service in Afghanistan.
Kristoffersen enrolled in non-commissioned officers' in 1988 and served as squad leader in the Engineer Battalion. After a few months studying engineering in college, he returned to military service in 1989 and served as squad leader in a pioneer platoon in UNIFIL (1991-1992).
From 1995-2000 he held several positions in the Reconnaissance Battalion, and underwent a selection process for FSK in 2000. In 2001 he was sent to Afghanistan as part of Operation Anaconda and also served in Lebanon.
He spent 12 years in FSK between 2000 and 2014, rising in the ranks from patrol member to commander. In 2014, he was appointed deputy Commander Norwegian Special Operations Command, before heading to Norwegian Joint Headquarters.
Later in 2017, he was appointed Commander Norwegian Home Guard, Commander Norwegian Army in 2019 and finally Chief of Defence in August 2020.
On 30 October 2022, Norwegian media said that Kristoffersen's narrative regarding the one operation (of two) for which he received the War Cross with Sword - is wrong; a September 2007 operation (in Tagab Valley) of which Kristoffersen was its operations officer, did not capture a Taliban leader; the intended goal of the operation was Qari Nejat (a Taliban leader) but instead the wrong man was arrested. The Norwegian Foreign Service including its embassy in Kabul, knew that the wrong man was arrested, and so did Norwegian Intelligence Service; Kristoffersen says that he was never informed that the wrong man was arrested.
The leader of the committee that gave War Cross with Sword - to Kristoffersen, said that we would never have given the medal if we had known that the wrong man was arrested. Previously, in a September 2022 interview, Kristoffersen said that after having read a Dagbladet article in 2009 - by Anders Sømme Hammer - that told about the 17 September 2007 arrest - in Tagab Valley, of Mohammed Naseem - Kristoffersen's conclusion was that "we still had arrested a person that two independent sources and intelligence, indicated was a Taliban leader in the valley".
An editorial in Klassekampen in October 2022, says that Kristoffersen's story is turned on its head, because it was a bricklayer who was mistakenly arrested - not a Taliban leader; furthermore, the wrong story contributed to Kristoffersen being conferred the War Cross with Sword, and that contributed to his [quick or] "lightning-career" to the top; furthermore, his story was highlighted by the government-instigated Godal-commission which in 2016 evaluated Norway's military effort in Afghanistan - therefore the information in this affair is more than just a [blemish or] scratch on Kristoffersen's resumé - it's also a problem for the official story about Norway's effort in Afghanistan.
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Eirik Kristoffersen
Eirik Johan Kristoffersen (born 3 April 1969) is a Norwegian Army General who serves as the head of the Norwegian Armed Forces. He is a former Chief of the Norwegian Army and Norwegian Home Guard, and Chief of the Armed Forces' Special Command (FSK). Kristoffersen is the first Norwegian Chief of Defence since World War II with battle experience. He was awarded the War Cross with Sword in 2011 for his service in Afghanistan.
Kristoffersen enrolled in non-commissioned officers' in 1988 and served as squad leader in the Engineer Battalion. After a few months studying engineering in college, he returned to military service in 1989 and served as squad leader in a pioneer platoon in UNIFIL (1991-1992).
From 1995-2000 he held several positions in the Reconnaissance Battalion, and underwent a selection process for FSK in 2000. In 2001 he was sent to Afghanistan as part of Operation Anaconda and also served in Lebanon.
He spent 12 years in FSK between 2000 and 2014, rising in the ranks from patrol member to commander. In 2014, he was appointed deputy Commander Norwegian Special Operations Command, before heading to Norwegian Joint Headquarters.
Later in 2017, he was appointed Commander Norwegian Home Guard, Commander Norwegian Army in 2019 and finally Chief of Defence in August 2020.
On 30 October 2022, Norwegian media said that Kristoffersen's narrative regarding the one operation (of two) for which he received the War Cross with Sword - is wrong; a September 2007 operation (in Tagab Valley) of which Kristoffersen was its operations officer, did not capture a Taliban leader; the intended goal of the operation was Qari Nejat (a Taliban leader) but instead the wrong man was arrested. The Norwegian Foreign Service including its embassy in Kabul, knew that the wrong man was arrested, and so did Norwegian Intelligence Service; Kristoffersen says that he was never informed that the wrong man was arrested.
The leader of the committee that gave War Cross with Sword - to Kristoffersen, said that we would never have given the medal if we had known that the wrong man was arrested. Previously, in a September 2022 interview, Kristoffersen said that after having read a Dagbladet article in 2009 - by Anders Sømme Hammer - that told about the 17 September 2007 arrest - in Tagab Valley, of Mohammed Naseem - Kristoffersen's conclusion was that "we still had arrested a person that two independent sources and intelligence, indicated was a Taliban leader in the valley".
An editorial in Klassekampen in October 2022, says that Kristoffersen's story is turned on its head, because it was a bricklayer who was mistakenly arrested - not a Taliban leader; furthermore, the wrong story contributed to Kristoffersen being conferred the War Cross with Sword, and that contributed to his [quick or] "lightning-career" to the top; furthermore, his story was highlighted by the government-instigated Godal-commission which in 2016 evaluated Norway's military effort in Afghanistan - therefore the information in this affair is more than just a [blemish or] scratch on Kristoffersen's resumé - it's also a problem for the official story about Norway's effort in Afghanistan.
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