Biography
About myself
Who I am? Well, as most may already know, I am a Norwegian, in the beginning of my 60's, and a retired Royal Navy Officer.
My ancestors came from Lofthus, or Ullensvang, in Hardanger, a place I often visited as a child. But, I grew up in the city of Bergen on the west coast of Norway.
In spring of 1968 I joined the Royal Navy for my national military service. As it turned out, I signed a 3 year contract, obtained a Royal Navy Communications education, and a Merchant Navy Radio Officer's certificate.
The plan at the time was to end my Navy career following the contract-period and head out to the seven seas, but that never happened. Instead, I stayed on, and worked my way through the required courses and ranks, ending up as an Officer.
Besides sea-duty, most of my career has been ashore, of which more than 14 years were spent in the Stavanger region.
Summer of 1996 I was assigned a three year NATO tour to Keflavik, Iceland, giving us an opportunity to get abroad and explore this beautiful country. Following these three years, in August 99, we returned to Norway, settling down just outside the capital Oslo. This time working for the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organization (NDLO/CIS), previously known as NODECA.
In 2002 we were extremenly pleased to yet again return to Iceland, now for our second tour, something we were really looking forward to! The plan was for another three years, but in 2004 we got an extendion of one extra year. However, that adventure came to an end in August 2006 when the base closed, and we headed back to Norway again.
We finally had to settle down somewhere where we should stay for the rest of our lives. As a result, we ended up in an area about 35km south of Stavanger city, in a local community called Naerbo, on the south-west coast of Norway. After 7 months "survival training", living in minimal temporary quarters (120 sq ft), our new house was ready for us in February 2007, when we could finally move in.
At end of August 2008 it was time to retire from active duty in the military, and we look forward to having more spare time on our hands (theoratically, that is).
Family
I got married back in 1976, when living in Bergen, to my wife Eli. We have two children, our daughter Eirin, and our son Ørjan, both living within a 30 minute drive radius from us.
Between 1980 and 1986 we moved a couple of times between Bergen and Stavanger, before settling down in Stavanger. Leaving for Iceland in 1996, Ørjan stayed behind to complete his education as a Cook, and to do his national military service, also him in the Navy. But, in November 2002 he joined us in Iceland, staying with us for a while, before returning to Norway spring of 2003, due to lack of suitable job oportunities.
Summer of 2007 he was married to Karin and in late August 2008 our first granddaughter Malin was born, followed by her sister Tuva in October 2009.