Trond André Bolle (5 July 1968 – 27 June 2010) was a Norwegian military officer and a

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

Marinejegerkommandoen ''Marinejegerkommandoen'' (MJK) () is the maritime/naval special warfare unit of the Norwegian Armed Forces and was established in 1953. The MJK is under the command of the Norwegian Special Operations Command (NORSOCOM) together with the '' ...

(Norwegian Navy Special Operations Command, NORNAVSOC), with the rank of '' orlogskaptein''. He was awarded the War Cross.

Career

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Bolle was awarded the War Cross with Sword (posthumously) on 21 January 2011. The decision was announced by the Minister of Defence,

Grete Faremo Grete Faremo (born 16 June 1955) is a Norwegian politician, lawyer and business leader. From August 2014 to May 2022, she held the post of Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). ...

, shortly after the cabinet session the same day. Cmdr. Bolle receives the award for his actions and behaviour during his command of the Norwegian Special Operations Force Task Group II in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

in Afghanistan's

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

province from October 2005 to February 2006. According to the Minister of Defence, Cmdr Bolle performed "above and beyond the call of duty" on numerous occasions during this period, his leadership was described as "exemplary". He "was a part" of intelligence agency E 14.

Transport of children out of Morocco

He and three other former members of E14 (an intelligence organization), smuggled the two children of

Khalid Skah Khalid Skah () (born 29 January 1967) is a Moroccan track and field athlete, winner of the 10,000 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Born in Midelt, Morocco, Skah established himself first as a good cross country runner by winning the IAAF ...

and Cecilie Hopstock out of Morocco, in 2009.

Death

Commander Trond André Bolle was killed on 27 June 2010, in an IED incident in Afghanistan's

Faryab Faryab (Dari,Pashto : فاریاب) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a ...

province. Three other ISAF-soldiers from Norway were also killed in the incident, which happened on the road between Khwaja Gawhar and Almar Bazar. The vehicle was the last vehicle in a column of four vehicles. This award marks the first award of the War Cross with Sword for actions performed after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The award was presented on Veterans day (also

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

), 8 May 2011.

References

Norwegian spies 1968 births 2010 deaths People from Vestby People from Østre Toten Royal Norwegian Navy personnel Norwegian military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) {{norway-mil-bio-stub