In a recent Forvaretsforum story Ingrid Indianna Nordby who entered Norwegian first-time service motivated for an active year in uniform says she ended up spending most of it at a computer in an office role she had not applied for. Serving at Bardufoss as an operations assistant in Brigade North, she says her dyslexia and difficulty sitting still made seven-hour office days especially draining.

Nordby did not apply for the position of operations assistant, nor does she believe she was given sufficient information about the role before being transferred to it. She says there was only a short presentation, which left out much of what recruits needed to know about serving as an operational soldier.

“When we were presenting the position to the newest contingent, I was very keen for them to understand exactly what they were getting into,” Nordby says. In her view, commanders do not know the soldiers and their qualities well enough before the recruit period to determine which roles they are best suited for.

“In addition, I miss out on a lot of basic soldier training because of my position,” she adds. She rarely gets to spend time with her squad and team. Nordby believes her experience reveals weaknesses in how the Armed Forces assign personnel to roles, and that poor placements can affect both motivation and well-being.

“I fully understand that the Armed Forces can place me wherever they want, but I wish assignments were better adapted to the individual soldier.”

Read the entire piece in Forsvarets Forum.