Medalje

 

US Navy admiral honored by Norway for leadership in High North defense

By 

ALISON BATH

STARS AND STRIPES • September 16, 2025

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Adm. Stuart Munsch, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa commander, was awarded the Norwegian Defense Service Medal with Laurel Branch by Norway’s defense chief, Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, during a reception aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in Oslo, Norway, on Sept. 13, 2025. (U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa via Facebook)

NAPLES, Italy — The Navy’s highest-ranking officer in Europe and Africa recently received an accolade from Norway for his efforts in strengthening defense in the High North and Arctic, where Russia and China are keen on exerting influence.

Adm. Stuart Munsch, commander of Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples, was awarded Norway’s Defense Service Medal with Laurel Branch on Saturday by the country’s defense chief, Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, NAVEUR-AF said Tuesday on Facebook.

Munsch was honored for his leadership in fostering cohesion across NATO and advancing effectiveness in underwater operations, such as submarine activity, among other accomplishments, NAVEUR-AF said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

The medal is given to Norwegian and foreign military and civilian personnel “who have demonstrated personal excellence, skills and efforts for the Norwegian Armed Forces,” according to the Norwegian armed forces’ website.

“I’m deeply grateful to Norway for this recognition on behalf of the people of NAVEUR/NAVAF and proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in defense of the High North,” Munsch said in the statement.

Climate change is opening more waterways in the Arctic, allowing Russia and China to threaten stability in the region.

The two countries have been collaborating on development in the Arctic as well as conducting joint training exercises for years, raising U.S. and NATO concerns.

Saturday’s ceremony aboard USS Gerald R. Ford in Oslo was made more significant given the aircraft carrier’s leadership in recent exercises with the Norwegian navy that concluded earlier this month.

In 2023, Ford was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to visit Norway in 65 years, signaling a ramp-up of American naval power in a region where countering Russia is a top priority for the U.S. and NATO.

USS Harry S. Truman followed in 2024, and the Ford Carrier Strike Group was back in Norwegian waters in August for a more than two-week exercise that included Germany, France and the Allied Maritime Command.

The exercise was “a building block on the last three years” of carrier strike groups’ work off the coast of Norway and in the High North, Rear Adm. Paul Lanzilotta, commander of the Ford CSG, said in a statement earlier this month.

The training, along with other efforts, such as the integrated air and missile defense exercise Formidable Shield 2025, continues U.S. efforts to test capabilities in extreme weather conditions.

For example, this month’s exercise with the Norwegian navy included a group of ships, led by the destroyers USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, that conducted various operations off Norway’s northern coast.

Those operations were supported by the dry cargo ship USNS William McLean and other allied auxiliary vessels, NAVEUR-AF said in a Sept. 8 statement. The exercise, which ended Sept. 8, included an Arctic Circle crossing by the Ford CSG.

Those and other efforts are in line with the Defense Department’s Arctic strategy, which emphasizes modernizing early warning systems and building a communication network in the region.

On Sunday, the Finnish navy announced that Bainbridge had arrived in Helsinki for a port visit. Meanwhile, Mahan was in Bergen, Norway, while the destroyer USS Winston Churchill, also part of the Ford CSG, was in Portsmouth, England, the Navy said.