The Special Unit of the National Police Commissioner (), more commonly referred to as the Viking Squad (), is the police tactical unit of the

Icelandic Police In Iceland, the Police () is the national police force of Iceland. It is responsible for law enforcement throughout the country, except in Icelandic territorial waters which fall under the jurisdiction of the Icelandic Coast Guard. Police affair ...

. The unit is in many ways modeled on the

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

tactical unit of the

Norwegian Police Service The Norwegian Police Service ( no, Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is the Norwegian national civilian police agency. The service dates to the 13th century when the first sheriffs were appointed, and the current structure established in 2003. It c ...

with which it conducts many exercises, both in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and Iceland. The unit has 46 police officers. The National Police Commissioner has published that the squad will be fully staffed at 55 police officers by 2010. Iceland has no standard military, and thus some functions usually performed by military forces in other nations are performed in Iceland by units such as the Viking Squad.

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 unit has five main squads: *Alpha Squad: A bomb squad specialising in

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milita ...

. *Bravo Squad: A boat squad specialising in operations on sea and water, diving and boat operations. *Charlie Squad: A sniper squad specialising in sniper entries, and close target reconnaissance. *Delta Squad: An intelligence squad specialising in anti-terrorism intelligence, surveillance, and infiltration. *Echo Squad: An airborne squad specialising in

aircraft hijacking Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the unlawfu ...

operations, parachuting, and surprise assault operations, along with

port security Port security is part of a broader definition concerning maritime security. It refers to the defense, law and treaty enforcement, and counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain. It includes the protection of the se ...

History

Armed police

Although the first Icelandic law enforcement officers, the nightwatchmen of

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

in the eighteenth-century, were heavily armed with morning stars, the armed capabilities of early twentieth-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, Royal MM34 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 re-arming was spearheaded by Prime Minister and former police chief

Hermann Jónasson Hermann Jónasson (25 December 1896 – 22 January 1976) was an Icelandic politician of the Progressive Party, who was prime minister of Iceland on two occasions. He served his first term from 28 July 1934 to 16 May 1942. This term includ ...

and Agnar Kofoed Hansen Chief of Capital Police and officer graduate from the

Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structur ...

. 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 .45 calibre sub-machine guns and Federal Laboratories

grenade launchers A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The m ...

were bought from the US along with

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

. The forming of a military defence force from the militarily-trained portion of the Icelandic police did not continue after the war, as it was eventually decided that the

US Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

would continue to defend Iceland from military threats while Icelandic police concentrated on internal threats from communist revolutionary forces.

Special unit

The special unit is considered to have been officially founded on 19 October 1982, when its first members finished training with Norwegian special forces. There were many reasons for commissioning the unit, including a hijacked airliner that landed at

Keflavík International Airport Keflavík Airport ( is, Keflavíkurflugvöllur ) , also known as Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport, is the largest airport in Iceland and the country's main hub for international transportation. The airport is west of Keflavík and southwest of ...

in 1976 and a few occasions of criminals using firearms against unarmed policemen. It had become clear that the

needed an effective tool to combat such violent, armed situations. Members of the unit were deployed in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

as a part of operations led by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, and some members have been deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. 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 A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Björn Bjarnason Björn Bjarnason (born 14 November 1944) is an Icelandic politician. His father was Bjarni Benediktsson, Prime Minister of Iceland, Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs and Mayor of Reykjavík. Matriculating from Reykjavík Junior ...

, introduced plans to strengthen the unit in response to the

War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

, 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 (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nickn ...

police district. On 2 December 2013, a man died after a gun battle with the members of the special unit. The unit had never been forced to open fire at suspects before. This was the first time a person was killed by police in Icelandic history.

References

External links

* http://www.police.is {{Law enforcement in Iceland ATLAS Network Law enforcement agencies of Iceland Non-military counterterrorist organizations Police tactical units