Víkingasveitin
Encyclopedia
Víkingasveitin (ˈviːciŋkaˌsveitɪn, The Viking Squad), officially Sérsveit ríkislögreglustjórans (Special Unit of the National Police Commissioner), is Iceland
's elite counter-terrorism unit, specializing in various types of armed and unarmed infantry combat. It is in many ways modeled on the Norwegian Delta
counter-terrorist unit with which it conducts many exercises, both in Norway and Iceland. The Viking squad has about 50 police officers. The National Police Commissioner has published that the squad will be fully manned at 55 police officers by 2010. Iceland has no standing regular military
, thus some functions performed by military forces in other nations may be performed in Iceland by units such as Víkingasveitin.
Additionally, the unit is designated to protect important installations in wartime, and it is often involved in exercises with Norwegian and Danish military special forces. During the stay of the U.S. military forces in Iceland, it conducted anti-special forces training operations and was responsible for its defences against terrorism.
Heckler & Koch G36
Assault rifle
Blaser R93
-7.62×51 NATO Glock 17 Steyr SSG 69
Mossberg 500
in the 18th century, were heavily armed with morningstars
, the armed capabilities of early 20th century police were very limited.
However the threat of a communist revolution and later invasion by foreign militaries forced the Icelandic government to rethink its position on police weaponry.
As a response to the forming of an illegal communist paramilitary unit the Icelandic police acquired Krag-Jørgensen
rifles, Mauser C96
and Royal 7.65 mm pistols and in late 1939 officers of the Capital Police were to form the officer corps of an Icelandic military defence force. This rearming was spearheaded by Hermann Jónasson prime minister and former police chief and Agnar Kofoed Hansen Chief of Capital Police and Officer graduate from the Danish Army. This military force never went from the training grounds as it was still training on 10 May 1940, the day 740 Royal Marines
invaded Iceland.
During the war Agnar did his best to continue acquiring weapons despite the unwillingness of British occupational forces to permit such imports. Nonetheless Reising cal 45. sub-machine guns and Federal laboratories grenade launchers were bought from the U.S. along with tear grenades.
The forming of a military defence force from the military trained portion of the Icelandic police didn't continue after the war, as it was eventually decided that the U.S. Armed Forces would continue to defend Iceland from military threats while Icelandic police concentrated on internal threats from communist revolutionary forces.
There were many reasons for commissioning the unit, including a hijacked
airliner that landed at Keflavík International Airport
in 1976, Eco-terrorists who sunk whaling ships in 1986 and a few occasions of criminals using firearms against unarmed policemen. It had become clear that the Icelandic Police
needed an effective tool to combat such violent, armed situations.
Members of the unit were deployed in the Balkans as a part of operations led by NATO, and some members have been deployed to Afghanistan
. The unit used to be under the command of the Reykjavík Chief of Police, however, in 1997, a new law was passed that put the unit directly under the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police.
In December 2003, Minister of Justice, Björn Bjarnason
, introduced plans to strengthen the unit in response to the War on Terrorism
, and further its responsibility in all operational issues covering more than one local jurisdictions. Today, members of the unit are stationed in three different police districts, Höfuðborgarsvæðið police district (metropolitan police), Suðurnes police district and Akureyri
police district.
So far, in spite of being heavily trained in it, the use of lethal force has never been required by members of the Viking squad, which its members are reported to be very proud of.
Videos of Viking squad training
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
's elite counter-terrorism unit, specializing in various types of armed and unarmed infantry combat. It is in many ways modeled on the Norwegian Delta
Beredskapstroppen
Beredskapstroppen , call sign Delta, is a specialized police unit situated in Oslo, Norway. It is the main public force counter-terrorism unit in Norway, trained to perform dangerous operations such as high-risk arrests and hostage situations...
counter-terrorist unit with which it conducts many exercises, both in Norway and Iceland. The Viking squad has about 50 police officers. The National Police Commissioner has published that the squad will be fully manned at 55 police officers by 2010. Iceland has no standing regular military
Military of Iceland
Icelands defences consist of the Icelandic Coast Guard which patrols Icelandic waters and airspace and other services such as the National Commissioner's National Security and Special Forces Units....
, thus some functions performed by military forces in other nations may be performed in Iceland by units such as Víkingasveitin.
Duties
The unit is tasked with several duties, including but not limited to:- Security of the state and state officials.
- Security of foreign dignitaries.
- Counter-Terrorism
- Support of local police forces.
Additionally, the unit is designated to protect important installations in wartime, and it is often involved in exercises with Norwegian and Danish military special forces. During the stay of the U.S. military forces in Iceland, it conducted anti-special forces training operations and was responsible for its defences against terrorism.
Squads
The Viking Squad has five main squads:- Alpha Squad: A bomb squad specializing in bomb defusal.
- Bravo Squad: A boat squad specializing in operations on sea and water, diving and underwater warfareFrogmanA frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....
, and boat operations. - Charlie Squad: A sniper squad specializing in sniper warfare, entries, and close target reconnaissance.
- Delta Squad: An intelligence squad specializing in anti-terrorism intelligence, surveillance, and infiltration.
- Echo Squad: An airborne squad specializing in aircraft hijackingAircraft hijackingAircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
operations, skydiving and surprise assault operations, along with port security.
Firearms
Heckler & Koch MP5Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a 9mm submachine gun of German design, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar....
Heckler & Koch G36
Heckler & Koch G36
The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...
Assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
Blaser R93
Blaser 93 Tactical
The Blaser LRS 2 and Blaser Tactical 2 are German sniper rifles, used by German and Dutch police forces as well as the Australian military and special police units. The rifles are manufactured by the German fire arms manufacturer Blaser. The LRS 2 and Tactical 2 rifles are straight-pull bolt-action...
-7.62×51 NATO Glock 17 Steyr SSG 69
Steyr SSG 69
The SSG 69 is a bolt-action sniper rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher and serves as the standard sniper rifle for the Austrian Army....
Mossberg 500
Mossberg 500
Mossberg 500 is a series of shotguns manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons. The 500 series comprises widely varying models of hammerless, pump action repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, magazine capacity, and...
Armed police
Although the first Icelandic law enforcement officers, the nightwatchmen of ReykjavíkReykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
in the 18th century, were heavily armed with morningstars
Morning star (weapon)
The term morning star is used to describe medieval club-like weapons which included one or more spikes. Each used, to varying degrees, a combination of blunt-force and puncture attack to kill or wound the enemy.- Design :...
, the armed capabilities of early 20th century police were very limited.
However the threat of a communist revolution and later invasion by foreign militaries forced the Icelandic government to rethink its position on police weaponry.
As a response to the forming of an illegal communist paramilitary unit the Icelandic police acquired Krag-Jørgensen
Krag-Jørgensen
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States of America and Norway...
rifles, Mauser C96
Mauser C96
The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937...
and Royal 7.65 mm pistols and in late 1939 officers of the Capital Police were to form the officer corps of an Icelandic military defence force. This rearming was spearheaded by Hermann Jónasson prime minister and former police chief and Agnar Kofoed Hansen Chief of Capital Police and Officer graduate from the Danish Army. This military force never went from the training grounds as it was still training on 10 May 1940, the day 740 Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
invaded Iceland.
During the war Agnar did his best to continue acquiring weapons despite the unwillingness of British occupational forces to permit such imports. Nonetheless Reising cal 45. sub-machine guns and Federal laboratories grenade launchers were bought from the U.S. along with tear grenades.
The forming of a military defence force from the military trained portion of the Icelandic police didn't continue after the war, as it was eventually decided that the U.S. Armed Forces would continue to defend Iceland from military threats while Icelandic police concentrated on internal threats from communist revolutionary forces.
The Viking Squad
The Special Unit is considered to have been officially founded in 19 October 1982, when its first members finished training with Norwegian Special forces.There were many reasons for commissioning the unit, including a hijacked
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
airliner that landed at Keflavík International Airport
Keflavík International Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Ground transport:Transport between the airport and Reykjavik city is by road only. The distance is 50 km. A new fast freeway was opened 2008. The buses have a timetable adapted to the flight schedule. They go to and from the Reykjavik bus terminal, taking around 45 minutes...
in 1976, Eco-terrorists who sunk whaling ships in 1986 and a few occasions of criminals using firearms against unarmed policemen. It had become clear that the Icelandic Police
Icelandic Police
The Icelandic National Police is the main police force of Iceland. It is responsible for law enforcement on all Icelandic territories except at sea where the Icelandic Coast Guard enforces the law. The two services assist each other as needed.- History :...
needed an effective tool to combat such violent, armed situations.
Members of the unit were deployed in the Balkans as a part of operations led by NATO, and some members have been deployed to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The unit used to be under the command of the Reykjavík Chief of Police, however, in 1997, a new law was passed that put the unit directly under the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police.
In December 2003, Minister of Justice, Björn Bjarnason
Björn Bjarnason
Björn Bjarnason is an Icelandic politician. His father was Bjarni Benediktsson, Prime Minister of Iceland, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs and Mayor of Reykjavík....
, introduced plans to strengthen the unit in response to the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, and further its responsibility in all operational issues covering more than one local jurisdictions. Today, members of the unit are stationed in three different police districts, Höfuðborgarsvæðið police district (metropolitan police), Suðurnes police district and Akureyri
Akureyri
Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....
police district.
So far, in spite of being heavily trained in it, the use of lethal force has never been required by members of the Viking squad, which its members are reported to be very proud of.
External links
- http://www.police.is
- http://www.bjorn.is
Videos of Viking squad training