Honoring Heroes: Craig Forster's Mission to Keep History Alive in the Norwegian Wilderness

 

When most people retire from a 21-year military career, they might settle into a quieter routine. Not Craig Forster. Two years ago, this former Green Beret found himself strapping on telemark skis in Norway, about to embark on an 11-day journey across the Hardangervidda plateau in temperatures that dropped to -30°C each morning.

"I was sitting on a couch getting fat and lazy with my age," Craig laughs, "and my buddy Mitch invited me to do it. I hadn't cross-country skied in 20-some years, but I just said to myself, you know what? I was gonna do it."

That decision would ignite a passion that has taken Craig back to Norway three times, leading expeditions that honor the courage of World War II saboteurs while supporting wounded warriors from both sides of the Atlantic.

Retracing the Heroes of Telemark

Craig's first expedition commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Heroes of Telemark—the most successful sabotage mission of World War II. In 1943, Norwegian commandos destroyed a hydroelectric facility in the Rjukan Valley, effectively eliminating Hitler's ability to produce heavy water for nuclear weapons. "They basically stopped the Germans from getting the bomb," Craig explains.

Skiing the same route across the unforgiving plateau, Craig and his team faced the same brutal conditions that tested those wartime heroes. "It's a plateau, elevation changes are no more than five or 600 meters, but when you start going up a little hill pulling a sled, it takes you forever," he reflects. "Your guide looks and goes, 'all right, you see that mountain all the way out there? That's the next point we're going to.' It can be psychologically affecting too."

The original saboteurs covered 630 kilometers over 18 days, roughly 400 miles through some of the world's most challenging terrain. "You got to think that those guys did not have the gear that we had," Craig notes with deep respect.

Operation Rype: An American Story

This past year, Craig joined his friend, Mitch, who organized another expedition honoring Operation Rype, the only American OSS-led mission in Norway during WWII. The 1945 mission aimed to destroy 2½ miles of rail track to prevent German troops from reinforcing the Eastern Front.

"We put together a group of 11 of us that were all either military veterans or active duty or National Guard guys or women. We had two women on the expedition, so it was really great," Craig says. The team began at Gjefsjoen Farm on the Sweden-Norway border, where mission commander William Colby had established his headquarters 80 years earlier.

One of their most solemn moments came when they skied to a crash site memorial on Plukkutjonnfjellet mountain. "We went out and paid honor to 12 members who didn't survive the mission. Their B-24 Liberator crashed into the side of a mountain and all 12 on board were killed," Craig explains. "We played taps and recreated the whole thing like it was done 80 years ago."

Building Bridges with Norwegian Veterans

Beyond honoring the past, Craig's expeditions serve wounded warriors in the present. He partners with SIOPS, a Norwegian veterans organization based in Oslo, taking wounded warriors on five-day expeditions that follow the original saboteur attack routes.

"A lot of these veterans are dealing with PTSD," Craig observes. "It gives them a sense of belonging again because the hardest thing for a soldier is when he leaves service especially if he's done a career in it, it's what he's known his entire life and now he's just tossed to the regular world."

The impact is profound. One expedition included a Norwegian veteran who had lost his leg below the knee in Afghanistan, the first amputee to complete one of these missions. "I was amazed with his ability to do that expedition," Craig recalls. "He was nervous because it was his first big event on skis, but man, he did great."

Trusted Gear for Extreme Conditions

When you're pulling 80-100 pounds of gear on a sled for 9-11 hours daily in sub-zero temperatures, every piece of equipment must perform flawlessly. For Craig, RecPak has become as essential as his telemark skis and Norwegian Alpha boots.

"RecPak for me is light, compact, easy to put inside a ruck or dry sack with my other meals," Craig explains. "The one thing I love about it the most is you don't have that crash. It's not like you're eating different snacks with a lot of sugar. You never had that crash; it was just steady sustainment."

The convenience factor proved crucial during long expedition days. "I can pre-mix it in the morning before I'm on trail and throw it in the sled or my pack. At any given time, if you wanna just sip on it throughout the day or down it all at once for a whole meal, it's there and ready to go. You can't do that with a freeze-dried meal."

For Craig, RecPak delivers on its promise the same way his other trusted gear does. "When RecPak says you get 700 calories and 42 grams of protein, you're getting it because your body feels it. Your recovery rate is freaking great with all the vitamins and minerals in it."

Carrying Forward a Legacy

As Craig prepares for his next Norwegian expedition, his mission remains clear: honor the past while helping fellow veterans heal and find purpose. Through these journeys across the same terrain where ordinary people accomplished extraordinary things, he's creating new bonds between nations and generations.

"The fact that we can bring veterans together and give them that sense of being back with their brothers and sisters, knowing they're not alone, that there's other people out there just like them going through the same things you make friends for life," Craig reflects.

In the unforgiving beauty of the Norwegian wilderness, where heroes once changed the course of history, Craig Forster continues their legacy; one expedition, one veteran, one story at a time.