NFMGuy_Emeritus

Good afternoon and a belated Happy Valentine's Day ,

, , and I have a bit of great news and a late Valentine's Day present to share with you all this morning for awareness purposes.

In early January, HRC executed a quiet update to Table 1 of AR 600-8-22, Military Awards. Along with Table 2, this document lists the status of badges, medals, ribbons, and other awards regarding acceptance, retention, and permanent wear for Army personnel. Typically, this document is an incomplete listing of a country's awards as HRC maintains it based upon requests from Army personnel rather than authoritative sources from foreign governments and militaries. Consequently, the document is generally outdated and contains errors due to varying translations. A good example of this is that the Netherlands listing contains three different titles for the same type of marksmanship award.

In the case of the Norwegian skill badges, Table 1 only listed the following for most of the last decade:

• Norwegian Foot March Badge: Bronze, Silver, and Gold

• Norwegian Sharpshooter Badge: Bronze

• Norwegian Ski Badge: Bronze

As part of the embassy's expansion of their military training exchange and skill badge program, they created a memorandum to assist with the submission for acceptance, retention, and wear for all their badges:

Several hundred of these memos were sent to HRC as part of requests for the Norwegian Sharpshooter Badge (NSSB) in silver. As HRC probably sensed that these requests were likely to increase significantly and a they had a rare instance of formal documentation listing the status of numerous awards, they executed an update to Table 1. As of mid-January the following awards can now be approved for acceptance, retention, and wear by your local O-5/LTC or higher:

Immediate Impacts

Principally, this reduces the administrative burden on you and your Soldiers and will increase interest and participation in the embassy's military training exchange and skill badge program. This will immediately make acceptance of the NSSB in silver easier as roughly 60-70% of event participants earn it over bronze.

I will note that with this change, everything covered by the current round of developmental testing for the Ski, Infantry, and Military Field Sports is covered by this update and these badges are available for initial testing through April: After April, these will enter a review people and be added to the public testing listing on the attache's website.

Other Impacts

• This update also preemptively addressed a challenge on the acceptance, retention, and wear of the Field Sports and Shooting Medals, which are awarded based on the completion of civilian and military sporting and marksmanship events. Comparatively speaking, approval to wear foreign ribbons and medals is very rare (prominent examples include Nijmegen and Diekirch marches) and will provide a long-term goal for many who participate in the skill badge program.

• We are actively coordinating with the Norwegian Sports Federation for a streamlined process for American military participation in their program. Currently, only the Austrian and Norwegian sports badges are approved for wear, while others (Belgian, German, Netherlands) are token acceptance only. Unlike the Austrian and German programs, you do not need to be a certified examiner to administer the test. Consequently, if you're interested in conducting field sports testing for your squad or platoon you can simply head out to the local track and pool complex and execute it over a few weeks before turning in your paperwork. We are working on a translated manual and scoresheet for their program along with an official English certificate to make this easier on them and all of you. Expect a detailed thread similar to the other badges around April. We expect this will become one of the most popular programs available.

Hopefully this provides everyone a bit of good news to start off the week! If you have any questions, feel free to drop them below and we'll respond when able as always!

Introduction

This post is something I look forward to sharing with you all every year to celebrate the unique relationship between the US and Norwegian militaries. No doubt many of you are aware of the heavily strained diplomatic relations between the US and Europe right now, especially with Denmark, and by extension, their fellow Nordic countries. I do not know the what the future holds on this subject but it is comforting to know that we still have friends out there in the world who continue to look for opportunities to deepen and improve the relationships between our peoples.

Acknowledgements

In a change of order this year, I want to thank first for all his hard work taking over NFM coordination this year and shortly the NSSB now that it's released from developmental testing and publicly available (be on the lookout for the new 2026 threads!). We also have new folks that are volunteering to be the leads and promoters of existing and new events as they come available so keep an eye out for them!

Second, my sincere thanks to for being a sounding board for every aspect of this project for over six years and enduring our requests to rotate an ever-growing number of stickied threads on these events.

Lastly, the Royal Norwegian Embassy's Defense Attaché's Office and representatives of the Military Sports Department of the Norwegian War College, extend their thanks to all of you who plan and conduct these events for the betterment of yourselves, units, and communities. This project is much more than just an opportunity to earn a foreign decoration. As Major General Lars Lervik (Chief of the Norwegian Army) remarked at AUSA this year: "Trust is not only between generals." These events provide a medium to build trust between each other and our allies and partners.

Year-End Event NFM Summary

The frequency and pace of event requests this year caught everyone by surprise. 2025 was expected to be similar to the prior to two years in terms of awarded badges and event participants, but the preliminary figures indicate every record associated with this program was broken.

• Event Inquiries: 500

• Events Closed Out/Completed: 362

• Participants: 34,908

• Badges Awarded: 23,131

  • Bronze: 18,736

  • Silver: 2,946

  • Gold: 92

Historic Stats:

• 2024 - 26,266 Participants, 16,196 Total Awards

• 2023 - 22,532 Participants, 13,957 Total Awards

• 2022 - 15,481 Participants, 10,007 Total Awards

• 2021 - 16,327 Participants, 11,303 Total Awards

• 2020 - 9,983 Participants, 7,013 Total Awards

• 2019 - 3,416 Participants, 2,251 Total Awards

Here's a couple trends and highlights from this year:

• USMA and 500th Military Intelligence Brigade retained their crowns for largest staggered (1,819) and simultaneous start (859) events, respectively

• The Marines held the smallest event with 6 people at Quantico

• Gold and silver award rates surged as expected now that the program is entering its sixth year

• Pass rates increased significantly compared to last year to 66.3%, but are still within historic averages

• The Polish military now routinely holds their own events and its increasing in popularity across Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania

• The first Australian event request was submitted and will be executed in early 2026

• The Navy and Air Force are holding significantly more events in Japan and Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel are regular participants

Year-End Event NSSB Summary

This year, the decision was made to make all the Norwegian military skill badges and a few other associated awards available through the embassy's program. The first of the events to go through developmental testing and enter public availability was the Norwegian Sharpshooter Badge (NSSB). Over the summer, a handful of units across the US and Germany conducted initial testing of the event, providing valuable feedback on the translated procedures manuals and other documents. After a brief revision period to account for this feedback the embassy opened testing up to the public on a permanent basis like the NFM.

• Event Inquiries: 27

• Events Closed Out/Completed: 19

• Participants: 874

• Badges Awarded: 608

  • Bronze: 188

  • Silver: 408

  • Gold: 0

Looking Ahead to 2026

2026 is expected to be an incredibly busy year for the embassy's skill badge program. Nearly 130 NFM and 17 NSSB events were approved to take place before the end of 2025 and 1-2 new requests are being received every day or two.

New Badges - Ski, Infantry, and Military Field Sports

While these established events occur, units are beginning to submit packets to take part in developmental testing for the final three skill badges that will be offered through the Norwegian embassy's program: Ski, Infantry, and Military Field Sports. If you're interested in learning more about them as they go through testing or want to host one of them to assist with this process more information can be found here:

These will be available for limited initial testing until the end of April. After this, manuals will be revised and all three will be made available for public testing.

New Medals

By the summer of 2026, development of the badge program will be complete and the team will focus on introducing two medals, the Norwegian Armed Forces Medal for Field Sports and Medal for Shooting. These are natural extensions of the skill badge program and more often worn in lieu of the badges by the Norwegian military. To earn them, a combination of military and civilian events must be completed. We've worked out the entire process for the Military Field Sports Medal, but additional work remains for the Shooting Medal. Discerning how to conduct Norsk Alminnelig Idrettsskytter (NAIS, the Norwegian Shooting Association) marksmanship events is the final item to work out on this endeavor for us, while the embassy works out the process to award these through their existing program.

New Event Request and Management System

Due to the volume of requests and time to manage this program, the embassy is exploring the use of a web portal to automate the event request system. This is being tested as part of the NIB, NSB, and NMFSB development process given the lower volume of event requests to iron out any bugs before potential implementation with the NFM and NSSB. After watching a few demonstrations, we're really excited for this. The system not only saves the embassy a lot of time, but it should also provide these benefits to those requesting events:

• Reduced event approval wait times

• Reduced paperwork requirements

• Publicly available event trackers so individuals can check on their packet status and find events in their area

2025 Event Photos

Finally, I'll leave you a few of the photos highlighted by the embassy and event partners this past year! Keep an eye out for Part I of the 2026 NFM and NSSB Events Threads in the next week or so! Good luck to everyone who participates in events this year!

Good Morning and Happy New Year, ,

 and I ( too because he has a healthy obsession with this project) have a lot of exciting news to share with the community this morning! After four months of diligent work, the embassy has cleared the final three skill badges (ski, infantry, and military field sports) for initial testing.

Until the end of April, any unit worldwide will be able to conduct initial testing for these new events under the Norwegian embassy's skill badge program. Just like the Norwegian Foot March, a Norwegian officiant does not need to be present to conduct testing! Once initial testing is complete, a brief review period will occur during May to June to ensure the procedures manuals and supporting systems are satisfactory. Afterward all three badges will be available for permanent testing in the same manner as the Norwegian Foot March (NFMB) and Sharpshooter Badges (NSSB).

As a note, expect us to edit this thread and accompanying documents regularly as we identify issues or confusing areas! Check back regularly to see if items have changed. Also, the Norwegian embassy will post a new section under the Defense Attaché Office's webpage to show that this is an officially sanctioned event series as was done with the NSSB.

Event Overview

As testing is being coordinated for all three badges in a consolidated post rather than a dedicated post for each, descriptions for each event will be a bit shorter than what we did with the NFMB and NSSB. We also need to fit in details on the unique scoring system and the embassy's new web portal system that is being trialed with these badges.

Lastly, for those curious on whether they're approved awards, here is a MFR from the embassy's website listing all the awards that their program currently awards or plans to by the end of 2026:

Table of Contents

• Norwegian Skill Badge

• Norwegian Infantry Badge

• Norwegian Military Field Sports Badge

• Participant Age Groups and Scoring Standards

• Event Request Procedures

Norwegian Ski Badge (NSB)

Manual Link:

Introduced in 1915 alongside the Norwegian Foot March, the Norwegian Ski Badge or Det Militære Skimerket event is designed to assess a soldier's ability to move long distances using skis and demonstrate weapons handling proficiency.

The assessment requires participants to complete a 30-kilometer / 18.64-mile cross-country skiing course while carrying a rucksack and weapon (if carried) with a dry weight of at least 11 kilograms / 24.25 pounds. Standard uniforms and any additional garments (combat uniform + cold weather gear), water, food, weapon magazines, and ammunition do not count toward the weight requirement. Additionally, participants must complete a marksmanship assessment during or immediately after the cross-country ski component.

Ski Route Requirements

The route must be a total of 30-kilometer / 18.64-mile cross-country course characterized by slightly hilly, but gentle terrain with the start and finish position at the same altitude. Organizers are permitted to use one of three configurations:

• Straight: Participants travel 30 kilometers / 18.64 miles from the start position without turning around or using loops.

• Out-and-Back: Participants travel 15 kilometers / 9.32 miles from the start position and then return to the start position using the same route.

• Loop: Participants travel 10 kilometers / 6.21 miles in a loop from the start position no more than three times.

Marksmanship Requirements

The shooting component of the assessment should occur during the last 15-kilometers of the course. If a range cannot be accessed while on the skiing course, participants should conduct the shooting component of the assessment immediately afterward.

American participants must use an M4/M16, M7, or similar caliber weapon for the marksmanship portion of the assessment. Only iron sights may be used. Non-American participants will use their standard-issue service rifle or carbine. Alternate weapons, such as machine pistols or submachine guns may be used when they are considered an issued weapon based on a service member’s position or specialty. When machine pistols or submachine guns are used for testing, target will be positioned no more than 100 meters from the shooter.

Marksmanship testing for Americans and other nationalities may be conducted using the Norwegian standard (10 rounds, 5 target types, 30-200 meters), Nationality Agnostic Configuration (10 rounds, 1 target type, 25-300 meters), or American Configuration (40 Rounds, Table VI Qual, 50-300 meters)

Norwegian Infantry Badge (NIB)

Introduced in 1928, the Norwegian Infantry Badge or Det Infanterimerket is awarded to individuals who demonstrate proficiency in essential infantry skills. Nearly a century later, the assessment’s emphasis on physical fitness, weapons handling, distance estimation, target detection, reporting, and orienteering endures as an accurate measurement of readiness and skill proficiency.

Manual Link:

Course Requirements

The course must measure between 8 – 12 kilometers or 4.97 – 7.45 miles characterized by slightly to moderately hilly terrain. Organizers are permitted to use one of the following configurations:

• Straight: Participants travel the required distance from the start position without turning around or using loops, finishing at a different location.

• Irregular: Participants travel the required distance, but finish at the same location as the start position. No portion of the course may be reused for another portion or test.

The use of out-and-back courses in which participants reuse half the course or portions of it are not permitted.

NIB Skill Assessments

Skill 1: Orienteering

The orienteering portion of the test can be conducted in one of two configurations at the discretion of the organizer. For both configurations, a map with all orientation points annotated must be issued to participants. Orientation points should be readily recognizable natural or artificial terrain features and not require the use of precise coordinate plotting for participants to remain on the course.

• Configuration 1: A portion of the overall course, not exceeding 1/3 of the total distance, is devoted to orienteering.

• Configuration 2: The entire course incorporates the orienteering portion of the test, requiring participants to navigate throughout its entirety.

Note: The use of Orienteering Control Markers (pictured right) is permitted.

Skill 2: Message Couriering

The message courier portion must be placed at the beginning of the course and not revealed until the official start of the assessment.

The message must contain the following elements:

• Date and Time Group - DDHHMMZMMMYY

• From - Rank and Name

• To - Rank and Name

• What – Objects Observed (e.g. 4 armored personnel carriers)

• Where – Where the Objects Were Observed (in vicinity of or other spatial reference)

• When – Time the Objects Were Observed (different from message time)

• How – Describe the Objects’ Activity (e.g. moving rapidly in the direction of)

• Message Author (May Vary from Message Sender)

The message may not be written down or photographed by the participants in any way.

Prior to crossing the finish line, participants will be issued a blank piece of paper (preformatted shells based on the structure of the message are not allowed) and be required to reproduce the message. Each portion of the message (8 in total, see above) that is not reproduced correctly produces a penalty of two minutes, for a maximum of 16 minutes. Minor issues such as the misspelling of words will not be penalized so long as they do significantly differ from the information intended to be conveyed from the message.

Skill 3: Target Detection

The target discovery portion of the assessment requires participants to identify various objects within a specified area.

Upon arrival at the target discovery area, participants are issued a lane card to locate and sketch the target(s) on each lane. A minimum of 5 lanes and a maximum of 8 lanes may be used for testing. The number of targets does not need to match the number of lanes used (i.e. 8 lanes are used, but only 5 contain a target).

The entrance to each lane must be clearly marked (i.e. Lane 1) and be no deeper than 150 meters. Participants are not permitted to travel down each lane and targets must be placed and configured in such a manner as to be visible without the aid of magnification equipment. The total testing area for all lanes must be no more than 150 x 150 meters in size. Lanes may be placed on both sides of the trail linking the entrance and exit stands.

Participants may move freely on the trail linking the entrance and exit stands if they choose to return to a lane to reassess whether it contains targets. Participants are assisting one another during this portion of this assessment and may not discuss the locations or presence of targets verbally or non-verbally. Proper marking of a lane includes a sketch of the target’s appearance, including whether it is obscured by vegetation or other objects and the quantity of targets. Only full torso marksmanship silhouette targets may be used for this portion of the assessment.

Upon completion of this assessment, participants turn their cards into the exit station and proceed to the next testing area. Failure to identify or misidentification of targets is assessed as an additional two minutes per lane.

Skill 4: Distance Estimation

The distance estimation portion of the assessment requires participants to correctly identify the range between themselves and 5 full torso marksmanship silhouette targets. Targets will be placed no closer than 50 meters and no further than 450 meters. No measurement aids other than a pencil, weapon (to include optic), or compass are allowed. If weather obstructs target visibility for any participants during testing, no penalties will be assessed during grading. For those that were not affected by visibility issues, 30 seconds will be deducted from their final finishing time to account for their stoppage time at this portion.

All distance estimates must be made in meters and a participant’s assessments must be within 1/7th of the true target distance (i.e. a 50-meter target’s distance can be described as falling between 43-57 meters without penalty). Participants are assessed a 3-minute time penalty for each target distance estimate that is incorrect.

Skill 5: Weapons Handling (Marksmanship or Hand Grenades)

Option 1: Marksmanship

Upon arrival at the marksmanship stand, participants will be issued a single magazine with five rounds. They will then proceed to the designated firing point, don ear protection, load their ammunition, and engage their assigned lane’s targets at the direction of their lane safety. Once all rounds have been fired, the lane safety will clear them off the range and they will continue the remainder of the assessment.

Two configurations may be used:

Option 2: Hand Grenades

The use of practice hand grenades may be used instead of carbine / rifle marksmanship. Participants will be given five practice grenades each. Two target areas measuring 3 meters in diameter each will be established at 15 meters and 20 meters for women and men, respectively. Every grenade outside the target area is assessed as a penalty of 3 minutes, for a maximum of 15 minutes.

NIB Qualification Requirements

Participants, at a minimum, must meet the following standards, regardless of final time, to earn the NIB:

• Overall Course: Complete

• Courier Message: 4/8 Elements Correct

• Target Discovery: One Target Correctly Identified (Sketch and Count)

• Distance Estimation: One Target Distance Accurately Estimated

• Weapons Handling and Marksmanship: One Target Hit

Individuals who fail to meet all these criteria are ineligible to receive the badge and their final finish times may not be used to calculate the average and base time as described in the next section.

Norwegian Military Field Sports Badge (NMFSB)

Introduced in 1936 by the Norwegian Association of Conscripted Officers (Vernepliktige Offiserers Forening or VOF), the Norwegian Military Field Sports Badge (NMFSB) or Det Militære Feltidrettsmerket was created to encourage the maintenance of essential military skills by active duty and reserve military forces, as well as civilians in the event of mobilization. Nearly a century later, the assessment’s emphasis on maintaining physical fitness along with proficiency in map reading, orienteering, and marksmanship endures as a measurement of fundamental military readiness.

Organizers are permitted to order the assessment’s components in an order of their choosing, based upon the training objectives or emphasis of the unit.

Skill 1 - Weapons Handling and Marksmanship

The weapons handling and marksmanship component of the assessment includes two sprints and two shooting sessions. Each sprint distance must be between 300 and 500 meters and no more than five rounds may be fired from each firing point. Targets must be between 25 and 200 meters from the firing point. At the discretion of the organizer, multiple targets and varying distances may be used with a designated number of impacts per target prescribed. Additionally, a mixture of weapons can be used, but no more than one type of firing point. An example follows:

• Firing Point 1: Participant sprints, with unloaded rifle or carbine, 350 meters to the first firing point and assumes an unsupported prone position. They load a magazine with five rounds and engage a target 200 meters away in their lane. Once the last round is fired, the lane safety will verify the weapon is clear and safe, releasing the participant to sprint to the next firing point.

• Firing Point 2: Participant sprints 500m to the next firing point. Upon arrival, they pick up a pistol, load a magazine with five rounds, and engage a target 25 meters away in their lane. Once the last round is fired, the official timer stops their stopwatch and records the total time.

Before the start of the event, participants must be oriented to the course and organizers must clearly mark the sprint start points and firing positions. Once complete, participants will verify they understand the layout of the course, the sequence of events, and the requirements.

Once the participant confirms they understand, the official timer will start the event by counting down from a set number, shout “Go” or “Begin,” and start the stopwatch.

Participants will sprint to each firing point, firing the prescribed number of rounds against their designated targets. Once the last round is fired, the timer stops the stopwatch and notes the time. Once all weapons are verified as cleared and safe, safeties will inspect their lane’s targets and report the number of impacts to the official timer. For any shots missed, the official timer will add 1 minute and 30 seconds as a penalty to the participant’s overall time. Once the overall time is calculated and recorded, the participant is released to the next component of the NMFSB assessment.

Skill 2 - Map Reading

The map reading component of the assessment requires participants to plot points on a map and navigate to those locations quickly on foot. A maximum of 10 points may be used, but the total number created for the assessment should suit the complexity of the terrain and distance of the course. The following are map scales, distances, and total points used during contemporary assessments:

The use of Orienteering Control Markers (OCM, pictured below) is recommended.

A unique symbol, pattern, or character must be placed at each OCM. Upon arrival at a point, participants will sketch this symbol, pattern, or character on a weatherproof course card, along with its OCM number.

A cadre member will be present at the entry point of the course. Upon a participant’s entrance to the course, they will communicate their start time (HH:MM:SS) to the exit point cadre member for timing purposes.

At the exit point of the course, a cadre member will annotate their finish time and examine their course card. For any unfound points or incorrect symbol, pattern, or character, a penalty of 2 minutes will be added to the participant’s total time.

If this is the first assessment of the NFMSB examination, organizers will stagger participant start time by a minimum of 2 minutes.

Skill 3 - Orienteering

The final assessment requires participants to navigate through terrain association and the use of a compass. No electronic devices may be used. The total designed length of the course will be dictated by the complexity of the terrain, but should not exceed 40 minutes. Generally, course length is 3.5 – 4.5 km.

Participants may not be issued a map of the orienteering course until they arrive at the entry point. Map scale should be between 1:10,000 to 1:15,000, but other scales can be used at the organizer’s discretion. The course must contain at least five points (including the start and finish) using Orienteering Control Markers (OCM), each of which will have a unique symbol, pattern, or character associated with it. Participants must sketch each symbol, pattern, or character associated with an OCM on their weatherproof course card.

A cadre member will be present at the entry point of the course. Upon a participant’s entrance to the course, they will communicate their start time (HH:MM:SS) to the exit point cadre member for timing purposes.

At the exit point of the course, a cadre member will annotate their finish time and examine their course card. For any unfound points or incorrect symbol, pattern, or character, a penalty of 2 minutes will be added to the participant’s total time.

Participant Age Groups and Scoring Standards

Before you worry about how complex this sounds below, there is a spreadsheet that does all the math for you! You can download the spreadsheet here:

Unlike the Norwegian Foot March which uses a standard time by age for men and women, the NSB, NIB, and NMFSB utilize a unique formulaic system that determines a base time and age group modifiers.

Base time is determined by:

1. Identifying whether there are more men or women participants in the testing group

2. The largest group is used as baseline group and the top 10% of finishers in terms of overall time are used to establish the baseline.

• A minimum of 5 participants is required to conduct the event

• If there are equal number of male and female participants, the male average will be used

Once it has been determined that the male or female average time will be used, the first modifier is applied.

• Male Base Time = Female Average Time – 20%

• Female Base Time = Male Average Time + 20%

After the base time is determined for each group, an age group modifier is applied using the two tables below:

As this is an unfamiliar grading standard, here is an example:

Event Size and Composition (Example)

127 Participants (47 males, 60 females)

• Majority Females, Female Average Used to Calculate Base Time

Female Base Time

• 60 Female Participants

• 50 Female Finishers

• First 5 Female Finishers = Top 10%, Average Time 217 Minutes

Female Base Time = 217 Minutes

Male Base Time = 173 Minutes (217 Minutes – 20%)

Example Calculated Event Time Standards - Female

Example Calculated Event Time Standards - Male

Note 1: Times are always rounded down to the nearest minute whenever a modifier is applied. If the Male Base Time is 173 Minutes and the 45% modifier is applied, the output is 77.85 minutes and is rounded down to 77 minutes.

Event Request Procedure

As part of the Norwegian Skill Badge Program’s expansion, the presence of a Norwegian officiant is not required. However, organizers must secure the endorsement of a Norwegian military or diplomatic official before conducting an event. The Norwegian Embassy’s Defense Attaché Office will provide endorsement for events conducted by foreign military personnel who submit an official request packet. Interested parties should submit the following items in a single document to request endorsement:

1. Official Request and Requirements Verification Memorandum – See Appendix A

2. Event Concept Graphic

EVENT CONCEPT GRAPHIC – FORMAT

Two-page PDF of the proposed event that contains the following requirements:

• Area Map with Event Route

• Location (City, State/Province/Equivalent)

• Estimated Number of Participants

• Start/Stop Points

• Total Distance

• Distance Markers Locations

• Administrative / Control Areas

• Weighing and Attire Verification Area

• Medical Stations and Evacuation Route

• Water and Food Points

• Forecast Temperature and Weather Conditions

• Communication Plan

• Weapons Range

When all documents are completed and combined into a single file, complete the request form on the Norwegian Skill Badge Event Endorsement Request and Management Portal:

Once received, the embassy will review the packet and respond within 2-4 weeks depending on our current backlog and official workload. Please submit your event request well in advance as we cannot offer expedited requests. Also, please refrain from sending multiple inquiries and requests as this slows down our review process.

Event Completion Procedures

Within 72 hours of completion, event organizers will send a closeout report using the Norwegian Skill Badge Event Closeout Portal and include a personnel roster for the embassy’s records:

As part of the closeout process, organizers must also upload a completed “Skill Badge Checklist - NSB, NIB, NMFSB” excel spreadsheet. Ensure Tab 1 and Tab 2 are fully completed. This document can be downloaded here:

Dropbox:

Google Drive: TBD

Embassy: TBD

Certificates and Badges

Once the event is completed and the closeout report reviewed, you will receive an automated email from the embassy’s event management system that contains pre-signed digital certificate template which organizers will complete with participant information. Certificates are to be printed or distributed digitally by the organizer promptly. We recommend using white, 110-pound cardstock for printed certificates.

Badges are to be acquired by event organizers or participants and awarded according to the following schedule:

Please note that participants may only successfully complete one event type per calendar year that awards a badge. For the sake of clarity, you can earn a foot march, sharpshooter, ski, infantry, and military field sports badge in a single year.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read this very lengthy post! If you're interested in hosting one of these events and have any questions, feel free to message me or post them in this thread so others can benefit from the information. I hope that there's a good amount of interest in hosting these so that we can clarify any confusing components to these manuals and trial the new event system so that the embassy can more efficiently process your requests.

Good morning everyone,

There's a few NFMs a year I make a dedicated thread for based on their size, event experience, or community impact. Typically these are USMA, 3200 SIG, 4 Chaplains, and Schofield Barracks events. The Schofield Barracks event is one of the largest and best organized events of the year and it's coming up in about two weeks. This year, the event coincides with the end of Tropic Lightning Week which is a nice change by the organizers as participants will be able to head right into a 3-day weekend after finishing the NFM.

While this is a paid event ($35) the cost is really good value to participants and is akin to registering for a half or full marathon in terms of what it covers:

• Large Badge

• Digital and Physical Certificate

• Snack Bag (variety of trail mix, protein bars, granola bars, fruit snacks)

• Bottled Water

• Gatorade

• LMNT electrolyte packets

• Fruit

• Variety of event swag

From an organizational perspective the event has one of the best support structures and the organizers implement improvements every year. Here are a few highlights of this year's improvements:

• Integration of FLAs stationed at every checkpoint with dedicated response zones

• Medics patrolling the entire route to monitor participant safety

• Implemented a digital certificate option to speed up checkout

• Dedicated ruck weighing frames for faster weigh out processing

• Created a 20-page guide to prepare and orient participants to the event

• Trimble Road closed to vehicle traffic for participant safety

• 1-2 water buffaloes at each checkpoint for bulk water access

• Increased number of portajohns and availability along the entire route

• SFRGs and food trucks offering breakfast burritos and other food at the end of the event

Lastly, the Norwegian Embassy is sending a representative from their Defense Attaché Office's Skill Badge Team to officiate the event, which is extremely rare. In addition to being part of the event staff, there will be a dedicated area showcasing the skill badges and other opportunities offered by the embassy and other liaisons on Schofield Barracks:

• Norwegian Sharpshooter Badge (currently available)

• Norwegian Ski Badge (Dec 2025 or Jan 2026)

• Norwegian Infantry Badge (Dec 2025 or Jan 2026)

• Norwegian Field Sports Badge (Dec 2025 or Jan 2026)

• Norwegian Sports Federation Sports Badge (currently available)

• Norwegian Armed Forces Medal for Field Sports (Jan 2026)

• Norwegian Armed Forces Medal for Shooting (Mid-2026)

• Austrian Sports Badge (currently available)

• German Sports Badge (currently available)

• German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge (Spring 2026)

For anyone interested, here's your chance to participate in one of the largest and best NFMs of the year!