Message to NATO’s Military — Hug Your Taxpayers
Norway’s royals are spending time with the armed forces as a rite of passage; other Western countries should offer the same to their citizens.
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Prince Sverre Magnus — an 18-year-old who is third in line to the Norwegian throne — spent a day learning about the armed forces in April. He visited a tank battalion, learned about drone use, and met conscripts (who in Norway are a select and prestigious cadre.)
Billed as “a perfect day in the armed forces,” it was the Norwegian military’s birthday present to the prince.
It would be a good gift for all Norwegians. Now that national security risks are increasing, and Western armed forces have to grow (Oslo recently outlined plans to more than double defense spending in the next decade), it’s increasingly important that citizens have a proper interaction with, and understanding of, the military.
Sverre Magnus’s birthday present involved a day-long visit to the country’s biggest military base, Setermoen in the High North, Norwegian National Broadcasting (NRK) reported. Having tried out everything from older to newer military technologies, he left with a good snapshot of Norway’s current armed forces.
When Sverre Magnus’s older sister, Ingrid Alexandra, turned 18, she too received this gift from the armed forces – three times over. The princess, who is second in line to the throne, got to spend a day each in the army, the navy, and the air force.
This year she’s doing her military service, which means she has joined the 17% of the country’s 19-year-olds selected for the prestigious assignment.
But why stop at “perfect days” for royals and why stop at Norway? In the Western world, most people lack any direct interaction with the armed forces and know little about them. That societal ignorance has only deepened over the past three decades as NATO’s armed forces shrank to a shadow of their former selves.
To be sure, Finland and Estonia have mandatory conscription — but it’s only mandatory for able-bodied men. The rest of the population may have conversed with a soldier or seen a tank from the outside, but most are clueless when it comes to what the armed forces actually do.
A survey carried out in 2019 for the Royal British Legion, a UK veterans charity, gave a good picture of the public’s knowledge of the armed forces. Some 69% of Britons said they knew little or very little about their day-to-day activities, with the lowest awareness among the under-35s.
Almost half thought serving personnel ran military-style fitness boot camps for the public, and 16% believed they spent time working as film extras. They do neither.
Ignorance about the military contrasts with other publicly funded and private institutions. Throughout our lives, we interact with a whole range of other professions: teachers, firefighters, police, clergy, not to mention real-estate agents, bankers, and administrators.
The military is an indispensable part of our societies fully funded by the taxpayer. With national security threats growing once again, taxpayers are being asked to support increased expenditures for defense.
They do so with varying levels of acceptance — and most without having had a chance to learn about the armed forces’ skills and responsibilities, or indeed what their work looks like.
That’s why the German military’s occasional dog-and-pony show for members of the Bundestag is such a good idea. The parliamentarians get to see up-close, at a military base, what the Bundeswehr does, and learn about the range of specializations soldiers work in.
The US armed forces have run various initiatives to show their work, and Britain held Navy Days until 2010, which allowed the public to visit ships and increase their understanding of the Royal Navy. But the UK government now runs an Armed Forces Day, which is billed as a celebration rather than an opportunity for learning. (Ever good examples of citizenry, Britain’s royals traditionally serve in the military and sometimes on the front lines.)
This is an opportunity for Western armed forces to make the most of it. 18-year-olds could be offered a “perfect day in the military,” or better yet, selected recipients of any age could enter a public lottery for such day-long visits.
Some would of course refuse the offer, but military bases would meanwhile receive countless citizens keen to learn about their work. It would take a day out of some soldiers’ and officers’ week, but it would only be a very occasional disruption. During Sverre Magnus’s day, General Eirik Kristoffersen, Norway’s chief of defense, took the time to participate.
It’s in nobody’s interest for the public to think the armed forces are all about infantry duties – or that they’re there for the entertainment of the public.
Elisabeth Braw is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.
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