Junior is leaving for Afghanistan.

Great news RAM. I know you're happy, proud and relieved all at the same time. Take care!

 

So glad to know your son is home safe. And I'm proud of you Roger for making a difference to those who serve today.

 

Greetings from my son to y'all and thank you for the support, both of us are very grateful and impressed.

After the ceremony the MoD went back to her office to announce that Lieutenant-Commander Trond-Andre Bolle was awarded the War Cross with Sword by the Norwegian government, the highest military decoration. He is the first serviceman to receive this decoration since WWII!! Actually, this is a dark side of our nation. Lieutenant-Commander Bolle has served for many years, among them five years in Afghanistan, in areas with conflict and distinguished himself several times during his service. Already five years ago he was recommended for the War Cross, but the government said no. Officially Norway is not at war, the leftwingers in office like to present Norway as a peace loving small nation only participating in peace keeping missions, after all we are also the ones that award the Nobel Peace Price every year. So, therefore we can not award our soldiers the War Cross for their bravery in the battlefield. For five years the politicians tried to ignore it, but after the IED incident that killed Bolle and his comrades the pressure from the opinion has grown stronger and stronger, and finally they had to give in. They simply ran out of excuses! However, it's a shame he had to receive it post mortem.

Edit: The picture below of Lieutenant-Commander Bolle was taken only hours before they hit the IED.