Norway and Minnesota exchange troops

Fly. Shoot. Drill. And learn from each other. Every year since 1973 Norway and Minnesota has exchange about 100 soldiers to train and learn from each other. This is the first time Camp Ripley has welcomed the Norwegian troops during the summer. And the Norwegians say they were excited to use the American facilities.
Norwegian Colonel Rolf Wold says, “We’re very excited to have facilities to train the soldiers. Shooting ranges, close combat building and so on. We haven’t have them back home in such a large scale. ”
Norway sent members of their youth guard, 16 to 21 year old soldiers, to train at Camp Ripley not only to give them new experiences but also to encourage them to stay in their home guard.
Norwegian youth guard, Tina Wilcox, says, “Those of us have been lucky enough to be taken over here will be taking all the knowledge back and try to teach our teammates back home.
To increase the fun during the work, the troops separated into three teams that competed against each other during each drill. The soldiers will use that competitive spirit to strive to be one of the top solders in their respective troops to be able to earn a return trip next year.