NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, center, meets with Norwegian soldiers with the Artillery Battalion, Brigade Nord, during a visit in Setermoen, Norway, March 18, 2026. The visit highlighted the strength of NATO’s joint force, demonstrating operational capabilities in an Arctic environment during Cold Response 26. A key component of NATO’s enhanced vigilance activity Arctic Sentry, exercise Cold Response 26 is a Norwegian-led winter military exercise designed to enhance collective defense capabilities and ensure U.S. readiness to rapidly deploy and seamlessly operate alongside NATO Allies in challenging arctic conditions. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Alexis French)

Norway’s armed forces face an acute housing shortage that could obstruct their planned expansion, according to the Norwegian Officers’ and Specialists’ Association. At Setermoen, only five to ten homes are available for 80–100 applicants; at Bardufoss, ten to fifteen homes must serve 60–80 applicants. Although the 2026 defence budget allocates NOK 2.4 billion to housing, quarters, barracks and educational buildings, construction is failing to keep pace. The union warns that the shortage will undermine recruitment, force more personnel to commute and prevent military communities in northern Norway from growing.

Read the entire piece in Forsvarets forum.