The Norwegian Defence Forces (Norwegian: Forsvaret) numbers about 30,000 personnel, including civilian employees. Norway has mandatory military service for males (6-12 months of training) and voluntary service for females.
Norwegian Defence Forces are subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence (headed by the Minister of Defence). The Commander-in-Chief is H.M. King Harald V.
Under the Constitution, the Minister of Defence is accountable to Parliament for all activities carried out by the agencies under his/her responsibility. This means that the Ministry, as part of the executive branch of government, is responsible for supervising the activity of its subordinate agencies, among other things by carrying out overall supervisory functions.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is from 2003 an integrated structure with civilian and military personnel. Subordinate to the MoD are the "Armed Forces' Military Organisation" as well as the three civilian agencies: the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), the National Security Agency and the Defence Estate Agency.
The main annual national exercise is Cold Response, held yearly, with all NATO member states invited.

Structure 2008