| Army Ranger Command | |
|---|---|
| Hærens Jegerkommando (HJK) | |
Hærens Jegerkommando Insignia
| |
| Active | HFJS: 1962 – 1971 HJS: 1971 – 1997 HJK: 1997–2006 FSK/HJK: 2006 – 2014 FSK: 2014 – Current |
| Country |  Norway |
| Branch |  Norwegian Army |
| Type | Army Special Operations Force |
| Size | Classified |
| Garrison/HQ | Rena leir |
| Engagements | Bosnian war Kosovo war Operation Enduring Freedom Task Force K-Bar Operation Anaconda |
| Decorations |  United States Army Presidential Unit Citation |
Hærens Jegerkommando (HJK) (Army Ranger Command) was a special forces unit of the Norwegian military. It was the armed forces competence centre for commando, airborne and counter terrorist duty in the Norwegian Army. Its headquarters were located 30 kilometres north of Elverum in the southeast of Norway, at Rena leir military base. In 2006, the unit was merged with Forsvarets Spesialkommando/Special Operations Commando.[1]
Hærens Jegerkommando directly translated to English means:
English translations of the unit's name, include:
The unit was established as Hærens Fallskjermjegerskole in 1962.[2] It was renamed Hærens Jegerskole in 1968, and its location was Trandum (near Jessheim).[2] The name Hærens Jegerkommando was introduced in 1997. In 2014 the name was changed from FSK/HJK to simply; FSK. Also in 2013 FSK left the Army branch and, together with Marinejegerkommandoen/Naval Special Operations Commando, was organised under the joint command Norwegian Special Operations Command (NORSOCOM).
Headquarters were at Rena leir military base, which received its first active units in 1997 after the base had been constructed in 1993–96.
HJK was a special operations force (SOF).[2] (Another special operations force of the Norwegian military is MJK (Marinejegerkommandoen).)[2]
HJK had a large HQ unit and a paratrooper unit, which trained personnel from all branches of the Norwegian military in parachute operations. The Pathfinder platoon was part of the HJK training cadre and consisted of conscripts deemed suitable for service in the unit after a selection period. The role of this unit was to annually train one platoon of jump-qualified recce soldiers.
The Hærens Jegerkommando together with the Forsvarets Spesialkommando are under a command named FSK.[3] The FSK itself is under direct command of the General Inspector of the Army.[4]
HJK was the first special forces unit to enter Pristina. The HJK's mission was to level the negotiating field between the belligerent parties, and to fine-tune the detailed, local deals needed to implement the peace deal between Serbian authorities and the Kosovo Albanians.[5]
On 23 July 2007 HJK lieutenant Tor Arne Lau Henriksen was killed in a short and intense close quarters engagement between a Norwegian special forces reconnaissance patrol and hostile fighters in Logar Province, Afghanistan.[6][7]
William H. McRaven, a United States Navy vice admiral, who served as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), said in an interview with a Norwegian newspaper in 2007 that he regarded the Special forces of Norway to be among the top special forces in the world and that one of his favourite operations was the Norwegian heavy water sabotage by the Norwegian resistance forces during World War II.[8]
