Veteran condemns defence force celebration

Norway’s defence force has invited veterans to a parade in Oslo and a celebration at Akershus Fortress on 13 June to mark the Afghanistan deployment anniversary, Dagbladet reports.

Terje Strat, a veteran of Kosovo and Afghanistan, questions the event in a commentary. “Should we really celebrate this?” he asks, noting that 15 percent of deployed troops return with injuries and receive no additional support from the state.

Strat, who says his own life was ruined in service, states he has never received state assistance and fought for years to secure compensation. He adds he will not attend, citing social anxiety and the difficulty of large crowds.

He criticises the lack of dedicated treatment centres for injured veterans, with responsibility shifted to municipalities that often lack records of local veterans. A former specialised unit in Moss was closed despite positive results, he notes.

“The defence force should instead hold a protest march to demand the state take responsibility for those sent to war,” Strat writes.