HELSINKI - An insufficient level of funding threatens Norway's national defense capability and weakens the armed forces' ability to fulfill routine and designated obligations to NATO, warns a State Audit Office report presented to the Storting, Norway's parliament.
Responding to the report, the Storting's Foreign Affairs Committee cautioned that steps needed to be taken to adequately resource all key branches of the armed forces in order to meet the country's NATO commitments.
The shortage of funding and material resources means that several of Norway's operating Army units will struggle to be combat ready for NATO operations, the report said.
Norway's ability to support NATO-related duties and missions is also hampered by funding and logistical issues that weaken the Air Force's training budget and reduce the number of combat-ready pilots.
"Around 40 percent of the staff positions in the Norwegian Air Force joint command headquarters remain vacant," the report said.
Moreover, the report revealed that funding shortages, and the use of available monies by the armed forces, have caused funding bottlenecks to both new and existing defense structures and equipment modernization projects.
The armed forces' capacity to fulfill NATO missions will be further frustrated in the backdrop of the government's decision to reduce the Air Force's pilot and operational training budget by 65 percent in 2010, the report said.
The lack of adequate funding and material resources extends to support branches of the armed forces, said the report, which observed that the military's Medical Corps is seriously lacking in ambulance vehicles as well as medical staff.
The report also expressed concern at the lack of operational equipment available to the Army's Northern defense units, noting that just one in six Leopard tanks were "in service" when inspectors visited the Telemark Battalion.
The report also highlighted funding deficiencies for the Air Operational Inspectorate, Marine Commando units and the Army's Communications Battalion, which have left them without essential training equipment.
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