Thirty members of Norway’s prestigious Royal Guards will be dismissed from service for using drugs while on leave, Norway’s armed forces said, as quoted by the Associated Press.
They received information about the use of prohibited substances during a private party this summer. Initially, five people admitted that they had taken drugs, and then another 25 people did the same. All thirty are serving in His Majesty’s Royal Guards, Norwegian TV and newspaper Verdens Gang reported.
A spokesman for the armed forces told Norwegian television that these conscripts would be removed from the army.
They did not specify what kind of drugs they used. In 2015, Norway made military service compulsory for men and women.
“All members of the armed forces are under an obligation to report if they witness or find out that military personnel have taken drugs,” the spokesman added to public television.
The Royal Guard is tasked with protecting the Norwegian royal family. The soldiers from its composition perform the changing of the guard in front of the palace in Oslo every day.
The unit also participates in official ceremonies, such as the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize.
