Norwegian conscripts will now have to return their panties, bras and socks following their military service to their successors, as the Norwegian military faces inventory problems, state broadcaster NRK reported on Friday.
Until recently, it was customary to let demobilized conscripts leave their garrison with the underwear that had been given to them during their service under the flag.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously complicated supply flows, leading the Norwegian military last year to invite conscripts to hand over the most intimate effects of their package.
“Now that we have chosen to reuse this part of the package, it helps us to have more volume in circulation and to increase the delivery capacity of the equipment. We have too little in stock, ”army logistics spokesperson Hans Meisingset told NRK.
“The laundry is washed, cleaned and checked. What we distribute is in good condition, ”he said.
A representative of the conscripts, however, criticized recurring failures that might affect operational capacities.
“Serious shortages of equipment and clothing can potentially affect operational readiness and, in the worst case, the safety of the soldier,” Eirik Sjøhelle Eiksund told the trade publication Forsvarets Forum.
Guarding NATO’s northern borders once morest neighboring Russia, Norway maintains unisex military service and annually summons around 8,000 boys and girls to serve, only a fraction of this age group.
.
