HV-016 is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's ability to mobilize its military and its ability to resist".

Background

Formed in 1987 as a result of the possible threat posed by the Russian Spetsnaz

Spetsnaz

Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...

, HV-016 (also informally known as HV-SPES) was an elite unit of the Norwegian Home Guard and a part of the newly formed I-Styrken, or Innsatsstyrken (En.: Intervention Force). The unit had detachments based in the 4 largest cities in Norway; Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, Trondheim

Trondheim

Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...

, Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

 and Stavanger

Stavanger

Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...

. Not a special forces unit per se, as the operators are not full-time employed in the unit, but participate in numerous exercises throughout the course of a year.

The unit was disbanded by the Norwegian government in September 2010.

Resources

HV-016 specialized in close protection of key military personnel and assets, CQB (Close Quarter Battle), and direct, offensive action.

The soldiers all had personlig sambandsmiddel (communication handset), and the officers and sergeants had weapons (with all operational parts — komplette våpen) and ammunition (treningsammunisjon) stored in their homes.".

Training

Sharpshooting from moving helicopters had been trained during training exercises in Denmark in 2007, 2008 and 2010 — the "Sniper training Falcon Eye" training maneuvers (øvelse).

In 2006, during an unannounced training maneuver, 40 soldiers from the unit were able to muster battle-ready in "an hour and a half".

Selection and personnel

The soldiers were recruited among people who have finished their conscript duty in the Norwegian armed forces, and many of them have experience from international operations with other branches of the Norwegian forces, such as Telemark Battalion

Telemark Battalion

The Telemark Bataljon is a mechanised infantry unit of the Norwegian Army. It was established in 1993, and is a part of Brigade Nord and stationed at Rena, Hedmark...

. Some also stem from Marinejegerkommandoen

Marinejegerkommandoen

Marinejegerkommandoen is a Norwegian maritime special forces unit. It was formally established in 1951. It is located in Ramsund in the northern part of Norway and at Haakonsvern Naval Base in Bergen...

 and Hærens Jegerkommando

Hærens Jegerkommando

Hærens Jegerkommando is a special forces unit of the Norwegian military. It is the armed forces competence center for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters are located 30 km...

, the two special forces units in the Norwegian military.
The applicants go through a four-day selection period with a following two-week basic course for the ones who pass. After this, the cadets commence the regular exercises with the unit for 6 months before being considered full members.

The exact organization of HV-016 is not publicly known. Also, the number of, and identities of its operators, are kept secret.

After decomissioning

By january 2011, 94 % of its former personnel in Oslo, Stavanger and Bergen gave up their contracts with Forsvaret

Forsvaret

Forsvaret may refer to:* The native name of the Danish Defence, the military of Denmark* The native name of the Norwegian Armed Forces, the military of Norway...

, protesting what they considered an unfair and irational process by military leadership.

Norway is considering to re-establish an anti-terror unit of the Home Guard, Aftenposten

Aftenposten

Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...

 wrote in November 2011.

External links

• The Home Guard
• Home Guard (Norway)
  Norwegian Home Guard
  The Norwegian Home Guard , is a rapid mobilisation force in the Norwegian military. Founded 6 December 1946, it is the youngest branch in the Norwegian forces.-Organization:...
  
  
• Updated: Home Guard Chief avoids charges
• Defense Minister hits back at Home Guard closure criticism