All-female special forces unit: Norway’s Jegertroppen

Jegertroppen or “Hunter Troops” is a program that is tailored for and led by women in Norway—which seems to be a success. Oftentimes in Middle Eastern countries male soldiers are not allowed to interact with female civilians due to cultural restraints; so, the presence of and value of an elite all-female Special Forces unit is beyond valuable.

Sources indicate that legislation to open up all military roles to women took place in the 1980s in Norway—decades before the United States.

They were also the first NATO country to allow women to be recruited and to enlist in a formal capacity.

Reportedly, some of the female soldiers shoot better than the men. The officer in charge of the training program in Norway, Captain Ole Vidar, confirmed that the all-female unit has a better sense of unit cohesion and solidarity compared to those units where men and women are integrated.

Norway’s Jegertroppen and its military standards

The all-female unit enables coalition forces to interact with and take care of, women and children that are often being detained or have been cleared from buildings during operations.

This nurturing aspect is not the only function these strong Norwegian women are able to do. They are also crucial in the intelligence gathering efforts.

Women in the all-female unit are expected to carry 60 pounds while running 4 miles in 52 minutes. One of the women, who barely weights 100 pounds, is carrying her body weight in gear. The women’s run times are just three minutes longer than the men’s run times. As men and women have differing body types, this standard difference is appropriate—something that causes much dissension in the United States military between policy makers.

The United States’ military standards

The United States military is still struggling with its culture of misogyny and mockery of women.

The United States Department of Defense repealed a ban last year that now allows women to serve in ground combat roles; yet, very few women have even been trained or assigned actual jobs that they rate to serve in.

We have yet to see many women in the United States that actually make it through training or thrive during training. They are mocked online and even attacked for trying to serve their country.

Most male military members see this as a joking matter and think it is a fact that women are not equal to them. They lack understanding on how bodies work. The American military standards are made by men, for men, to keep women out.

Women in special forces, we are headed in the wrong direction

Norway has definitely surpassed the United States in taking down gender barriers in their military. They are already three years into their all-female unit training program that actually trains females, instead of failing every one that goes through training – training standards that are set for men, in order to keep women out of the “good ‘ole boys” club.

Like clockwork, every time a female soldier or a female Marine does not make it through a male-dominated training environment, their failures and shortcomings become food for the media frenzy sharks; while almost 99% of the population does not even attempt to get off of their couches or get off of their computers to train in the military.

The United States Marine Corps nude photo scandal is a prime example of the complete lack of regard for women and how they are objectified and rarely taken seriously in the workplace. The United States fails repeatedly to get legislation out of filibuster that protects the basic human rights of women in the military. Women are subjected to rape and harassment on a regular basis.

With lingering troop surges to places like North Korea and Syria, our military better be up to the task—dividing against itself right now is only making our country weaker. We need to be following Norway in suit; generating all female units that train hard and function with better results than integration. The United States will not lose to our overseas adversaries, we will lose to ourselves. Clearly, trying to teach grown men to control themselves and to respect their fellow service members is already defeating the United States.