Norwegian Civil Defence (Norwegian: Sivilforsvaret) is the civil defence organization of Norway.
The Norwegian Civil Defence sorts under the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning which again reports to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The organization is based on conscription where both men and women between the age of 18 and 55 can be called to serve. The Civil Defence are to support the police, fire departments, health care or other public agencies in case of larger incidents which those departments don't have the manpower to handle.
The Norwegian Civil Defence is split into.
As of 2016 the Norwegian Civil Defence has an operative force of 8,000 men and women with duty to serve. In addition, a wartime reserve force of 8000 personnel will be trained and equipped should the need arise.[1]
The most active part of the Norwegian Civil defence. Each FIG contains 22 persons, one FIG leader and a second in command. The rest of the personnel are divided in two teams led by a team leader, and a second team leader. The FIG personnel are to respond to a call-out within one hour and there are 119 active teams in the country
This is a release-reinforcement unit for the FIG. The personnel have exactly the same training as FIG. FIG-P have a call-out time of 30–60 minutes. Normally there is one Fig-P troop per FIG unit, divided in two teams.
There are 17 mobile clean-up units in the organization. Each group consists of 24 persons that are specially trained in decontamination of people that has been exposed to chemical, biological, or radioactive agents (CBRN).
The teams are equipped with a rapid deployable mobile decontamination unit that can be deployed at any site where chemical, biological or radioactive contamination had been detected.
This is the smallest unit in the organization and consists of four personnel trained in measuring radioactivity. The unit measures background radiation at set locations and times for comparison.They are also trained in location radioactive materials.
There are 123 teams currently operating.
| Rank insignia | Regular | National service | National service reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norwegian: Sjef for sivilforsvaret Director of Civil Defence | |||
| Norwegian: Distriktssjef District Director | |||
| Norwegian: Sivilforsvarsinspektør I Assistant Civil Defence Director I | Norwegian: Stabssjef Chief of Staff | ||
| Norwegian: Sivilforsvarsinspektør II Assistant Civil Defence Director II | |||
| Norwegian: Sivilforsvarsadjutant I Chief Civil Defence Officer I | Norwegian: SF-sjefskontrollør Chief Controller Civil Defence Norwegian: Rådgiver stab Staff Adviser | ||
| Norwegian: Sivilforsvarsadjutant II Chief Civil Defence Officer II | Norwegian: FIG-leder Peacetime Contingency Team Leader Norwegian: FIGP-leder Peacetime Contingency Team Leader - Personnel Norwegian: MRE-leder Mobile Decontamination Unit Leader Norwegian: IG-leder Contingency Team Leader Norwegian: STG-leder Support Team Leader | Norwegian: Seksjonsleder stab Section Leader Staff Norwegian: SF-kontrollør Civil Defence Controller Norwegian: LVG-skiftleder Air Alert Service Shift Leader | |
| Norwegian: Sivilforsvarsbetjent Civil Defence Officer | Norwegian: IG-nestleder Assistant Contingency Team Leader Norwegian: STG-nestleder Assistant Support Team Leader | Norwegian: Materiellforvalter Supply Officer Norwegian: Lege Medical Officer Norwegian: LVG-operatør Air Alert Service Operator Norwegian: Stabsmedlem Staff Member | |
| Norwegian: FIG-nestleder Assistant Peacetime Contingency Team Leader Norwegian: FIGP-nestleder Assistant Peacetime Contingency Team Leader - Personnel Norwegian: MRE-nestleder Assistant Mobile Decontamination Unit Leader | Norwegian: Kvartermester Quartermaster Norwegian: Sykepleier Nurse Norwegian: Sambandsleder Communications leader | ||
| Norwegian: Lagfører Squad Leader | |||
| Norwegian: Nestlagfører Assistant Squad Leader Norwegian: Patruljeleder Patrol Leader Norwegian: Kvartermesterassistent Assistant Quartermaster | |||
The Norwegian Civil Defence was first founded as the voluntary air protection (Norwegian: Det Frivillige Luftvern) in 1936. It was later renamed to the civil air protection (Norwegian: Det Sivile Luftvern). The primary task for the organization was to protect civilians in case of war. This is also evident in the law from 1953 (Norwegian: Lov om sivilforsvar) that still governs the organization. Even so the organization has adapted to the change in threats against civilians.