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So, a few months later, in the early spring of 1988, there was a bunch of guys who arrived at
Sřr-Gardermoen UN military training-camp. Some who has been down the road before, but most of us not knowing at all where we were heading. The training was intensive, but good. 3-4 weeks, according to rotation, with
a lot to learn, but thanks to the veterans whom already been there before, the training got both easy and not at least interesting ! They knew the conditions and the mision, and every minute was spend training and
repeating over and over what to do in the different situations that was to come.
Then, after 31/2 week it was my turn to enter the plane at Gardermoen Airport, heading for the
Middle-East... All the gear was in place, my bag with civilian clothes was put away in a store-room in the camp, and off we went. I still remember the slippery stairs covered with ice when enetring the plane one
early morning. The de-frosting crew working outside the plane waived goodbye as we taxed out on the runway.
5 hours later, I wondered what the h*** I was up to, when the door opened up and we left the
plane at Ben-Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Israel. From -10 degrees celcius in good old 7-5 Narouge to +45 celcius at the concrete runway. It was a shock !
After waiting for hours in the Israeli checkpoints outdoor in the heat, the next thing that met
us, was a bomb-robot shooting to pieces a small cardboard box someone had thrown out in the streets, and for the first time the thought of countrys in conflict appeared for real...
The small white buses was
filled to the edge with slightly nervous freshmen, and bored veterans eager to get back to the AO - Area of Operations.
Armed soldiers and tanks everywere... Strange smells and dust filling the air... Palmtrees and
desert, donkys and dogs on the loose... It was all so new to us, and we sucked it in, every bit of it ! Miles later, we entered the Israeli/Lebanese border in the dark... We walked trough the israeli checkpoint and
was met by norwegians with Armoured Personel Carriers and trucks... All painted white, with a black UN in big letters on the sides... In the antennas light-blue tattered flags showing the UN emblem...
All of us
was called up and given 100 rounds of live ammunition. “Load your guns, the ICA (Israeli-Controlled Area) is troubled tonight, so we may have to use them” was the order. For the first time in my life I loaded a gun
with the intention to possibly use it against another human being. Something happened to me there, I don’t know what, but it was a different person who entered the back of the truck that evening than the one walking
trough the gate just minutes before...
The trucks drowe into Lebanon, escorted by those big APC’s... With pride I heard
one of my fellow soldiers from my platoon say those APC’s belonged to our platoon, and suddenly I felt secure... I was an APC-soldier, and nothing could hurt us !
The rest of the trip into Norbatt AO I don’t
remember to well, it was dark and moiste and all sences was consentrated on every movement around.
Israeli
and arab checkpoints passed by, and miles later the truck did enter 4-2 Bravo Checkpoint... The first sight I ever got of norwegian military installations in a forreighn country... Big searchlights, concrete blocks
and barbed wire fences wished us welcome home, as a soldier on duty saluted us when driving by.
Inside the checkpoint-building I spotted another soldier behind a machine-gun, covering in case of trouble !
The next days went fast as the wind... More training, this time on the spot together with the
re-cap soldiers. Ambush-patroles, escort, road-clearence, observation-posts and checkpoint-duty. Prefabricated barracs with only blankets hung up as walls separating us from the other soldiers. New, light uniforms -
armsleeves were cut of. (No need for long armsleeves when temperature went up to +50 degrees celcius on real hot days !)
To get a better impression of my stay, visit the picture-page !
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