She then studied at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in the United States until 1981 and worked with the EDB systems at the University of Bergen until 1984.

In September 2007, Strøm-Erichsen expressed that Norwegian special forces in Afghanistan could have killed hostile elements, further adding that there was reason to believe that they had, and it was "not something we hide".

[6] In April 2008, Strøm-Erichsen received tenders from the aircraft manufacturers Saab and Lockheed Martin to deliver the new fighter jets to the Norwegian Air Force.

In 2010 she and Jonas Gahr Støre, minister of foreign affairs, involved in a scandal due to their acceptance of expensive gifts such as carpets from Afghan politicians.

[12] In June, she presented new responses to the Storting Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs regarding critical emails from the Navy Command.

She took this action after being criticised for not taking claims of lying, manipulation and threats of surveillance from the Norwegian Army's top level in connection with the proposal to move the Marine Hunter Command from Ramsund and Bergen to Rena.