Denmark will send a company of conscript soldiers to Greenland in August to participate in the exercise Arctic Endurance. According to a press release from the Danish Armed Forces (Forsvaret), this is the first cohort to complete the new eleven-month conscription and who are thereby able to participate in operational activities.
The conscripts have completed five months of basic training in Haderslev (southern Denmark) and will subsequently participate in the same types of tasks as previous Danish contributions to Arctic Endurance. These may include surveillance duties, winter training, and exercises alongside allied forces. The conscripts complement, but do not replace, the professional units participating in the exercise.
"The government and the Danish Armed Forces take the security of the kingdom extremely seriously. The purpose of the new eleven-month conscription is for conscripts to be trained to participate in the Danish Armed Forces' missions, for example in Greenland. This not only strengthens security and deterrence in Greenland, but also the Danish Armed Forces' combat capability and ability to operate under difficult weather and natural conditions," says Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus in the press release.
The new conscription comprises five months of basic training followed by six months of operational service. Conscripts will be able to participate in missions outside Denmark's borders in NATO countries, including as part of NATO's collective deterrence. According to the press release, the plan is for more conscripts to have the opportunity to participate in activities in Greenland going forward.
As Nordic Defence Sector reported in February, Denmark introduced a new eleven-month conscription programme earlier this year, consisting of five months of basic training followed by six months of operational service.
"It is encouraging that conscript soldiers can now contribute to the Danish Armed Forces' mission in Greenland. It is a good example of conscription once again constituting an important capability that can carry out concrete tasks and thereby strengthen the Danish Armed Forces' overall combat capability," says Chief of Defence General Michael Wiggers Hyldgaard in the same statement.