Artilleribataljonen Artilleribataljonen ( Artillery Battalion ) comprises the complete artillery force of Norway , numbering some 550 soldiers and officers and 12 M 109 A3GN self - propelled howitzer s . In 2000 the army acquired 32 MLRS trucks to let the battalion meet the new millennium and an MLRS Battery of 100 men and 12 trucks was set up . Only five years later ; however , the army pulled the plug and stopped buying ammunition . As a consequence , the unit was disbanded and the trucks are now in storage . Forsvarsstudie 07 ( Defence Study 07 ) proposed to reintroduce the system , but it is as yet unknown whether the army will do so . Organization . The Battalion consists of five batteries and the Battalion HQ : Batteries N , O and P are the gun batteries . Each has 6 M109s available , the number in use differs from contingent to contingent according to the needs of the army and the amount of soldiers volunteering for gun duty . Nils and Olga are situated at Setermoen Camp , while Piraja is situated at Rena . The two ' old timer ' batteries , Nils and Olga , each have a gun platoon ( manning the howitzers ) , an OP platoon ( Observation Post platoon , moving with the unit being supported and acquiring targets ) and a command platoon ( collects and processes data , issues firing data ) . The fresh battery Piraja only has a gun platoon and a command platoon , but is being set up with an OP platoon . In addition , Nils and Olga has contributions to the Provincial Reconstruction Team ( PRT ) in Meymaneh , Afghanistan . HQ battery consists of support and supply personnel . They provide the gun batteries with the resources they need to fight ( ammunition , distance , elevation and weather data and security ) . In addition , they garrison Setermoen camp and serves as guards and medics during exercises . The STA ( Surveillance and Target Acquisition ) Battery comprises the Artillery observers ( Artillerijegere ) , who moves in forward positions , finding targets for the cannons . On larger exercises , though , the STA Battery is given away to the ISTAR unit . The battalion also has a WLS - platoon ( radar ) , that is used in counter - battery fire . When enemy artillery fires , the WLS radar detects the projectile and uses its trajectory to calculate where it was fired from . This data is then sent to the ILS and the cannon battery staffs , which in turn use this to coordinate the cannons in an effort to take out the enemy battery . The Batteries . Battery Nils . Based at Setermoen , Nils Battery is the oldest battery still in service with the Norwegian Army . It can trace its footsteps back to pre - World War II times . During the late 1990s it was the only gun battery in operation , until the MLRS system was introduced , though at that time it was a great deal bigger than its current size . Since Nils Battery ' s mascot is a bear , it is called the Army ' s Slagbjørn ( " Slagbjørn " being the Norwegian designation of a bear that has attacked people or livestock and should thus be considered a danger ) . After supporting the 2 . Bataljon for a few years , Nils battery is now supporting the Norwegian Panserbatalion . Battery Olga . Olga Battery was created in 1947 , as a part of the artillery regiment which served under Tysklandsbrigaden , Norway ' s force participation in the post - war occupation of Germany . After the occupation it was relocated to Setermoen . It continued to serve until the 1990s , when many units in the Norwegian Armed Forces were disbanded after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of the threat of full - scale invasion . The battery was reformed on June 21 , 2006 and assigned to the Panserbataljonen at Setermoen . Aftera few years however , the roles were changed and battery Olga is now supporting 2 . Bataljon . Its howitzers are named after stars of the Ursa Major constellation . During its stay in Germany , the battery adopted a wild boar piglet that had lost its parents to poachers . The boar was named Corporal Oscar and became the battery ' s mascot . Because of its " rank " , all privates had to salute it . As it grew up it became uncontrollable and dangerous and had to be put down . When the battery was reformed in 2006 , the battery commander , captain Tom Patrick Scarlett , was given a new wild boar piglet as a ceremonial gift . The new piglet was named Corporal Oscar II , inheriting the rank of its predecessor and also enjoying the mandatory salutes of soldiers serving in Olga battery . He is a familiar sight walking mostly free around in Setermoen camp . Battery Piraya . Piraya Battery was re - created in 2006 ( it also existed in the 70s and 80s under the name of Battery Petter ) and is assigned to Telemarkbataljonen at Rena as part of the new Rapid Reaction Force of the Norwegian Army . It is also the only gun battery in the battalion to field professional soldiers .