CRU soldiers flee Kabul – start a new life in Norway
– First and foremost, they are extremely grateful to have come to Norway. They realize that they have been given a unique opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their family. Most have grown up in a country that has been at war since they were born. This is perhaps the first time they do not have to look over their shoulder, says Colonel Brage Larssen from the Armed Forces’ special forces.
For several years he has worked with personnel from the Afghan Special Police Department Crisis Response Unit 222 (CRU). He co-founded the department in 2007 and has since served as force commander for the Norwegian special forces in Kabul.
In mid-August, Norway evacuated around 1,100 people from Afghanistan. About half of these were affiliated with the CRU or were related to the Afghan operators.
Recently performed personnel from the Armed Forces a so-called stopover for CRU personnel. This is based on the experiences of how to receive Norwegian soldiers who have served abroad.
– We felt it was important that a familiar face from the Armed Forces was responsible for the formal reception, says Larssen.
Together with the deputy commander of the Armed Forces’ special forces, Christian Harstad, he welcomed the Afghan personnel to Norway. The stopover was also attended by operators from the Armed Forces’ Special Command and the Marine Hunter Command – the two departments that have worked most closely with CRU since its inception.
– We participated because we know the best and know what they have been involved in. I have worked with many of them before, and there were many familiar faces in the room. It was a cordial reunion in every way, he says.
Awaiting settlement
The CRU personnel came to Norway in August, as transfer refugees. They have been informed at various receptions where identity is secured and protection needs are clarified. The Afghans are then placed in the municipalities where they will be settled.
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has the main responsibility for ensuring that they are integrated into Norwegian society.
– We were very clear that this is not our responsibility. But we received very good feedback that the Armed Forces contributes with the expertise we have that is unique in veteran care, says Larssen.
The Armed Forces’ forum has been given access to a document in which the Ministry of Justice asks the Armed Forces to support the UDI in the follow-up of the Afghan personnel. The stopover was attended by personnel from the Armed Forces Veterans Service, the Armed Forces’ Institute for Military Psychiatry and Stress Management, as well as personnel from the special forces.
The group was led by Colonel Brage Larssen.
– Psychiatrists talk about normal reactions to demanding events. Many could tell that they slept a little badly at night, had nightmares and heavy thoughts. But we experienced that they were already well taken care of by health personnel at the reception centers, says Larssen.
– Then it was about reinforcing the message that it is not embarrassing to be about help and that it is allowed to talk about feelings. They have access to a professional apparatus whose task is to integrate them into Norwegian society as quickly as possible.
Concerned about colleagues in Afghanistan
Norway managed to evacuate about half of the CRU personnel from Kabul when the Taliban took power in August. In the talks, the Afghans expressed concern for the safety of their remaining colleagues.
– Many of them have daily contact with CRU personnel in their home country who say that they are in danger. The situation in Afghanistan is chaotic, but we have no evidence that the specific persecutions or that they are in greater danger than other Afghans. But that can change from day to day, says Larssen.
CRU personnel also wondered what the Armed Forces could do to help those left in Afghanistan. The answer was that Norway no longer operates assisted departures from Afghanistan and that this is a decision made by the Norwegian authorities and not the Armed Forces itself.
– The criterion that underlies now is the same as for everyone else seeking asylum in Norway – namely that it must reach the Norwegian border itself. It was not nice to stand there and give that message, but they appreciated that we were honest with them.
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– Their mission is over
The stopovers took place in close collaboration with the UDI, the staff at the reception centers, personnel from the municipal health service and the police. The stopover program consisted of two parts. The first part was set aside to inform staff working at the reception.
– The purpose was to give the most possible information about CRU, what they have been involved in, as well as what we believe and believe is important in the follow-up of these. But first and foremost, the message was that they should not change the routines, this is something they already know, says Larssen
Part of the program consisted of conversations with personnel from CRU.
– It was a formal welcome to Norway also from the Armed Forces’ side. We were also brutally honest about the process they are going through. What they can do is be soldiers, but their mission is over and the department is closed down. The road to becoming a Norwegian citizen is quite long. They have been granted temporary residence, and can be granted permanent residence after five years, says Larssen.
He says that many of them wanted a job either in the Armed Forces or the police. But there are some obstacles in the way. To work in the Armed Forces, you are required to be a Norwegian citizen. This only happens after having lived in Norway for a total of seven years, according to the UDI.
– Even if they express that they want to work in the police or the Armed Forces, it may not be possible. Then they must rather use the abilities and power of action they have to be best integrated in society, says Larssen.
Veterans Association for CRU personnel
He describes several strong impressions in the meeting with the Afghans who have fought against the shoulder with Norwegian special forces for 14 years.
Family members and a large number of minors who have already started kindergarten and school also came to Norway. At least 11 children have been born after arrival.
– It makes an impression to meet people who are uprooted and located elsewhere in the world. Yet they are still able to care for others. When they found out I had a birthday, they sang the birthday song in Afghan and gave me a flower. It was both strength and touching. These are people who came to the country without anything.
– Most people did not even bring a plastic bag with clothes.
Larssen says that he was also impressed by the knowledge and professionalism of the Norwegian reception system. And not least the spirit of hard work in the environments around the receptions.
– The local population contributed with the collection of clothes, language training and courses in Norwegian cooking. It was good to see the way they were taken care of, he says.
CRU personnel are now waiting for a new place to live. They mean that they can be located in municipalities across the country. As a measure to enable them to be contacted, the creation of a CRU veterans’ association is an option that is being considered.
– We can not force anyone to join an association, but if it comes as a recommendation from our side, there is a great possibility that they will take it. It will also make it easier for the special forces to have a relationship with them, says Brage Larssen.
Heroes in Afghanistan – starts on bare ground in Norway
He himself helped establish the department, together with, among others, the current chief of the Armed Forces’ special forces, Torgeir Gråtrud. From the outside, Larssen followed the Taliban’s takeover in Kabul, which meant that CRU 222 had to lay down its arms.
– What we succeed in the period we were there, we have every reason to be proud of. We got to build the department into one of the most experienced counter-terrorism units in the world. Had there not been a political collapse in August, the department would have managed to continue the mission.
Larssen chooses to focus on what the Armed Forces’ special forces got for the years they participated in Afghanistan.
– CRU has helped make Kabul and the surrounding provinces a little safer every single day. Our message was that they have every reason to be proud of what they have achieved and it was not their fault that it collapsed in August
When the personnel came to Norway, the circle in many ways ended for the Afghanistan mission. Nevertheless, there are close ties between CRU and the forces that Larssen wants specialists to take care of in the future as well.
– There is no doubt that this is an important part of the history of Norwegian special forces.
– What do you think about their prerequisite for gaining a new life in Norway?
– CRU was completely in Afghanistan, there were posters with pictures of them in Kabul and they were very much appreciated. Now they start on bare ground in a foreign country with a different culture and a language they do not yet know. In many ways, they went from “hero to zero” when their identity was torn away.
– But if they use the qualities that made them skilled soldiers in the right way, I think they have good conditions for success. They are very concerned with becoming good citizens of Norwegian society.