Norway

Stavanger Phones and Fast Facts

Stavanger

Stavanger is located on a fjord on Norway's southwest coast, and most military members assigned to the area have NATO jobs at the Joint Warfare Center (JWC) in Jatta, about eight miles to the south. A few Air Force members work at the 426th Air Base Squadron, the servicing organization also located in Jatta.

Stavanger is the place where the contrast between the old and new Norway is most noticeable. Around it there is the tourist Norway of thatched roofs, wooden houses and fish set out to dry in the air. But at the same time Stavanger is the center of the North Sea oil industry which in recent decades has made Norway a very prosperous country. Many oil companies have offices there and it is the place from which the oil rigs are towed to sea. The population today is 105,000, making it Norway's fourth largest city. The weather in the winter is cold with snow or rain and in the summer varies from hot and sunny to chilly with rain.

The location around Stavanger was probably one of the first areas in Norway to be settled. Presumably these first settlers came from other North Europeans countries some 12,000 years ago. At that time most of the North Sea was dry land. Work on the Stavanger Cathedral began in 1125, the year in which the city was officially recognized.

The 426th ABS provides all the normal base-level support, to include legal, medical, accounting and finance, transportation, MWR and supply. Due to its remote location Stavanger only offers education through a non-DoDDS school. The 500-student International School of Stavanger (K-12) conducts classes in English and DoDDS funds enrollment for all command-sponsored minor family members. Free transportation is also provided.

Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) operates a shoppette on the JWC Compound. It stocks the same types of merchandise as larger military exchanges and commissaries, though a smaller variety and with fewer specialty items. Special orders may be accepted with delivery expected in two to four weeks.

Personnel may not come to Norway if they or their family members have serious or chronic medical problems which the aid station can't handle. There is no base or government housing, so new arrivals will need to stay in a hotel while looking for a house to rent. The housing market in the Stavanger area fluctuates. The American Housing Referral office at the 426th and a NATO housing office at Jatta both maintain current listings.

Household current in Norway is 220 volts, 50 cycle, but transformers to convert it to 110 are available at the shoppette. TV in Norway uses the European PAL system and there are no broadcasts using the American NTSC system. However, the programs of AFN are available by satellite, and American TVs and VCRs should work with a transformer. There are video rentals at the shoppette, which also sells multisystem TVs & VCRs.

NATO has very active ski and sailing clubs. Weeklong instructions in both cross country skiing in the winter and sailing in the summer are available. Equipment for both are plentiful at NATO for nominal fees and sometimes gratis.

To reach military numbers below (prefix 224) from a civilian telephone:
From inside Norway:
05195 and then the last four digits of the military number.
From the USA:
011-47-5159 and the last four digits

Chaplain 224-0559
Community Center 224-0580
Housing Office 224-0577
Library (civ. nr.) 5157-2654
Medical Aid Station 224-0563
Red Cross 423-4008
School Officer 224-0527
Shoppette (civ. nr.) 5169-5692

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