Preparing For Disaster: Training Norwegian Navy Personnel For The Worst

Members of the Royal Norwegian Navy have undergone Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) in Plymouth

Frigate Thor Heyerdahl is the latest in a line of international military vessels to undergo the training, which is designed to prepare crews for natural disasters.

FOST uses simulation exercises, such as the aftermath of a hurricane, a collapsed building and car fires, to get personnel ready.

Other scenarios they can face include non-combatant evacuation and military support to civil authorities exercises.

"Quite a few of the foreign nations that we train come here to do this because they don’t have that training facility back in their own country,” Lieutenant Commander Rich Talbot told Forces News.

“Certainly the Germans and the Netherlands who are regular visitors to us at FOST, they all go through this training."

As well as being prepared for dealing the immediate conditions of a disaster, personnel are also taught how to take care of people caught up in the disaster, including elderly pensioners or parents with young children.

Warrant Officer 1 Jesper Larsen, an exchange officer from the Royal Danish Navy, said: "When we land the teams from the ships… in order to proceed through this site to the medic station they will have to try and see if they can extinguish a fire."

The Royal Norwegian Navy has been taking part in the training for years and Lieutenant Commander Lars Lauritzen, a Weapon Engineering Officer, says he thinks his colleagues enjoy it:

“We’ve been coming to FOST since 2012 but we’re only the second [Norwegian] ship to do this training.

"It’s something that all Norwegian ships will appreciate because it’s basically very nice for the crew to see that their skills can be applied [in] other ways than just on board."

Roughly one third of Thor Heyerdahl’s crew are conscripts and one, Victoria Moldskred, said she was enjoying the experience of doing something on dry land for a change:

“It’s nice to have another experience [so] that we can help others [when] they have an emergency,” Ms Moldskred told Forces News having just practised CPR on a dummy.

Only half the ship’s company have been sent to shore during FOST, with the remainder providing logistical support from the Thor Heyerdahl.

"We’re still responsible for operating the ship," the Commander of Thor Heyerdahl, Daniel Thomassen, said.

“And maintaining the safety of the ship, as well as bringing to bear as much capacity as we can on site.

"So we brought about 65 personnel on shore today. That is a major contribution from a crew of this size."

Thor Heyerdahl is normally based in Bergen and is one of four Norwegian frigates.

After completing her training, she will return to Norway where she is expected to take part in NATO taskings.