Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...

charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. The Defence also promote Denmark's wider interests, support international

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United ...

efforts and provide

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

. Since the creation of a standing military in 1510, the armed forces have seen action in many wars, most involving

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, but also involving the world's

great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power i ...

s, including the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...

, and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. Today, Danish Defence consists of: the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

, Denmark's principal

land warfare Land warfare or ground warfare is the process of military operations eventuating in combat that takes place predominantly on the battlespace land surface of the planet. Land warfare is categorized by the use of large numbers of combat personne ...

branch; the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). O ...

, a

blue-water navy A blue-water navy is a maritime force capable of operating globally, essentially across the deep waters of open oceans. While definitions of what actually constitutes such a force vary, there is a requirement for the ability to exercise sea cont ...

with a fleet of 20 commissioned ships; and the Royal Danish Air Force, an

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

with an operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The Defence also includes the Home Guard. Under the Danish Defence Law the Minister of Defence serves as the commander of Danish Defence (through the

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position wit ...

and the Defence Command) and the Danish Home Guard (through the Home Guard Command).

De facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

the Danish Cabinet is the commanding authority of the Defence, though it cannot mobilize the armed forces, for purposes that are not strictly defence oriented, without the consent of

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

History

Origins

The modern Danish military can be traced back to 1510, with the creation of the Royal Danish Navy. During this time, the Danish Kingdom held considerable territories, including

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, and colonies in Africa and the Americas. Following the defeat in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

, the military became a political hot-button issue. Denmark managed to maintain its neutrality during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, with a relative strong military force. However, following the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

, a more pacifistic government came to power, decreasing the size of the military. This resulted in Denmark having a limited military, when Denmark was invaded in 1940. Since the establishment of the Danish military, the two branches operated independently, without much cooperation. They both had their own ministry, and their own air force. It was only after the lessons of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the branches were reorganized, and collected under the newly created Danish Defence. This was to ensure a unified command when conducting joint operations, as learned from the War.

Cold War and international engagements

Denmark tried to remain neutral after

, with the proposed Scandinavian defence union. However, Norway resigned from the talks, and with

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

tensions on the rise and the 1948 Easter Crisis, Denmark was forced to join the North Atlantic Treaty. During the Cold War, Denmark began to rebuild its military and to prepare for possible attacks by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and its

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

allies. During this time Denmark participated in a number of UN peacekeeping missions including

UNEF UNEF may refer to: * United Nations Emergency Force, a UN force deployed in the Middle East in 1956 * UNEF, a designation for Extra-Fine thread series of Standard Unified Screw Threads (ANSI B1.1) * Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (Natio ...

and

UNFICYP The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violen ...

. Following the end of the Cold War, Denmark began a more active foreign policy, deciding to participate in international operations. This began with the participation in the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, where the

served as part of the

United Nations Protection Force The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav ...

and were in two skirmishes. This was the first time the Danish Army was a part of a combat operation since World War 2. On April 29, 1994, the

, while on an operation to relieve an observation post as part of the

, the Jutland Dragoon Regiment came under artillery fire from the town of

Kalesija Kalesija ( sr-cyrl, Калесија) is a town and municipality located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, east of Tuzla. As of ...

. The

quickly returned fire and eliminated the artillery positions. On October 24, 1994, the

, while on an operation to reinforce an observation post in the town of Gradačac, were fired upon by a

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tank ...

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

tank. One of the three Danish

Leopard 1 The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were though ...

tanks experienced slight damage, but all returned fired and put the

tank out of action. With the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, Denmark joined US forces in the

War on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

, participating in both the War in Afghanistan and the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. In Afghanistan, 37 soldiers have been killed in various hostile engagements or as a result of friendly fire, and 6 have been killed in non-combat related incidents, bringing the number of Danish fatalities to 43, being the highest loss per capita within the

coalition forces ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

. Denmark has since participated in

Operation Ocean Shield Operation Ocean Shield was NATO's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA), an anti-piracy initiative in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It follows the earlier Operation Al ...

, the

2011 military intervention in Libya On 19 March 2011, a multi-state NATO-led coalition began a military intervention in Libya, to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, in response to events during the First Libyan Civil War. With ten votes in favour and ...

and the

American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War The American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War refers to the American-led support of Syrian rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the course of the Syrian civil war, including Operation Inherent Resolve, the active mil ...

Purpose and task

The purpose and task of the armed forces of Denmark is defined in Law no. 122 of February 27, 2001 and in force since March 1, 2001. It defines three purposes and six tasks. Its primary purpose is to prevent conflicts and war, preserve the

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

of Denmark, secure the continuing existence and integrity of the independent Kingdom of Denmark and further a peaceful development in the world with respect to human rights. Its primary tasks are:

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

participation in accordance with the strategy of the alliance, detect and repel any sovereignty violation of Danish territory (including

and the

), defence cooperation with non-NATO members, especially

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and East European countries, international missions in the area of conflict prevention, crisis-control, humanitarian, peacemaking, peacekeeping, participation in ''Total Defence'' in cooperation with civilian resources and finally maintenance of a sizable force to execute these tasks at all times.

Total defence

Total Defence ( da, Totalforsvaret) is "the use of all resources in order to maintain an organized and functional society, and to protect the population and values of society". This is achieved by combining the military, Home Guard, Danish Emergency Management Agency and elements of the

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

. The concept of total defence was created following World War II, where it was clear that the defence of the country could not only rely on the military, but there also need to be other measures to ensure a continuation of society. As a part of the Total Defence, all former conscripts can be recalled to duty, in order to serve in cases of emergency.

Defence budget

Since 1988, Danish defence budgets and security policy have been set by multi-year

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

agreements supported by a wide parliamentary majority including government and opposition parties. However, public opposition to increases in defence spending—during periods of economic constraints require reduced spending for social welfare — has created differences among the political parties regarding a broadly acceptable level of new defence expenditure. The latest Defence agreement (" Defence Agreement 2018–23") was signed 28 January 2018, and calls for an increase in spending, cyber security and capabilities to act in international operations and international stabilization efforts. The reaction speed is increased, with an entire

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

on standby readiness; the military retains the capability to continually deploy 2,000 soldiers in international service or 5,000 over a short time span. The standard mandatory

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

is expanded to include 500 more, with some of these having a longer service time, with more focus on national challenges.

Expenditures

In 2006 the Danish military budget was the fifth largest single portion of the Danish Government's total budget, significantly less than that of the Ministry of Social Affairs (≈110 billion DKK), Ministry of Employment (≈67 billion DKK), Ministry of the Interior and Health (≈66 billion DKK) and Ministry of Education (≈30 billion DKK) and only slightly larger than that of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (≈14 billion DKK). This list lists the complete expenditures for the Danish

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. The Danish Defence Force, counting all branches and all departments, itself has an income equal to about 1–5% of its expenditures, depending on the year. They are not deducted in this listing. Approximately 95% of the budget goes directly to running the Danish military including the Home guard. Depending on year, 50–53% accounts for payment to personnel, roughly 14–21% on acquiring new material, 2–8% for larger ships, building projects or infrastructure and about 24–27% on other items, including purchasing of goods, renting, maintenance, services and taxes. The remaining 5% is special expenditures to NATO, branch shared expenditures, special services and civil structures, here in including running the

Danish Maritime Safety Administration The Danish Maritime Safety Administration (DaMSA) ( da, Farvandsvæsenet) was a department of the Danish Ministry of Defence with administration located in Christianshavn, Copenhagen. DaMSA operated throughout Denmark as part of the Danish Search ...

, Danish Emergency Management Agency and the Administration of Conscientious Objectors
Militærnægteradministrationen
. Because Denmark has a small and highly specialized military industry, the vast majority of Danish Defence's equipment is imported from NATO and the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...

. Danish Defence expenditures (1949–1989)("
Økonomi-styrelsen
'")
Finance law 1996 to 2006
Danish Agency for Governmental Management)1976–1989,

Danmarks Statistik Statistics Denmark ( da, Danmarks Statistik) is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing and which reports to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating st ...

Danish Defence expenditures (1990–)

Branches

Royal Danish Army

The Danish Royal Army ( da, Hæren) consists of 2 brigades, organised into 3 regiments, and a number of support centres, all commanded through the Army Staff. The army is a mixture of

Mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

and

Armoured cavalry Armoured cavalry are combat units using armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) instead of horses. They began to replace horse cavalry in the heavy shock and the light reconnaissance, skirmishing and exploitation/pursuit roles in most armies commen ...

with a limited capabilities in

Armoured warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare (mechanized forces, armoured forces or armored forces) (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armored fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of ...

. The army also provides protection for the Danish royal family, in the form of the Royal Guard Company and the Guard Hussar Regiment Mounted Squadron.

Royal Danish Navy

The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) consists of

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

s, patrol vessels, mine-countermeasure vessels, and other miscellaneous vessels, many of which are issued with the modular mission payload system

StanFlex StanFlex (also known as STANFLEX or Standard Flex) is a modular mission payload system used by the Royal Danish Navy. Originally conceived during the 1980s as a way of replacing several classes of minor war vessel with a single class of multi-role ...

. The navy's chief responsibility is maritime defence and maintaining the

of Danish,

ic and Faroese

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potent ...

. A submarine service existed within the Royal Danish Navy for 95 years.

Royal Danish Air Force

The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet) consists of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.

Danish Home Guard

The Home Guard is voluntary service responsible for defence of the country, but has since 2008 also supported the army, in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

Structure

: ''Forsvarsministeriet'' (''FMN'') ** Defence Command : ''Forsvarskommando'' (''FKO'') *** Army Command : ''Hærkommandoen'' *** Naval Command : ''Søværnskommandoen'' *** Air Command : ''Flyverkommandoen'' *** Plans, Policy and Coordination Staff : ''Udviklings- og koordinationsstaben'' *** Joint Operations Staff : ''Operationsstaben'' *** Special Operations Command : ''Specialoperationskommandoen'' (''SOKOM'') ***

Joint Arctic Command The Joint Arctic Command (JACMD - da, Arktisk Kommando; fo, Arktisk Kommando; kl, Issittumi Sakkutooqarfik) is a direct Level II authority in the Danish Defence. Joint Arctic Command's primary mission in peacetime is to ensure Danish sovereig ...

: ''Arktisk Kommando'' (''AKO'') ** Royal Danish Defence College : ''Forsvarsakademiet'' (''FAK'') *** Royal Danish Military Academy : ''Hærens Officersskole'' *** Royal Danish Naval Academy : ''Søværnets Officersskole'' *** Royal Danish Air Force Academy : ''Flyvevåbnets Officersskole'' *** Royal Danish Defence Language Academy : ''Forsvarets Sprogskole'' *** Army NCO School : ''Hærens Sergentskole'' ***

Navy NCO School The Navy NCO SChool ( es, Escuela de Suboficiales de la Armada) is a military institution for the training of non-commissioned officers of the Spanish Navy (''cabo mayor'' ( master corporal), sergeant , first sergeant , ''brigade'' ( master serg ...

: ''Søværnets Sergentskole'' *** Air Force NCO School : ''Flyvevåbnets Sergentskole'' ** Defence Medical Command : ''Forsvarets Sanitetskommando'' (''FSK'') ** Defence Maintenance Service : ''Forsvarets Vedligeholdelsestjeneste'' (''FVT'') ** Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation : ''Forsvarsministeriets Materiel- og Indkøbsstyrelse'' (''FMI'') *** Defence IT Agency : ''Forsvarets Koncernfælles Informatiktjeneste'' (''FKIT'') ** Ministry of Defence Personnel Agency : ''Forsvarsministeriets Personalestyrelse'' (''FPS'') *** Centre for Veterans Affairs : ''Veterancentret'' ** Ministry of Defence Estate Agency : ''Forsvarsministeriets Ejendomsstyrelse'' (''FES'') ** Home Guard Command : ''Hjemmeværnskommandoen'' (''HJK'') ** Defence Intelligence Service : ''Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste'' (''FE'') ** Judge Advocate Corps : ''Forsvarets Auditørkorps'' (''FAUK'') ** Ministry of Defence Accounting Agency : ''Forsvarsministeriets Regnskabsstyrelse'' (''FRS'') ** Ministry of Defence Internal Auditor : ''Forsvarets Interne Revision'' (''FIR'') ** Emergency Management Agency : ''Beredskabsstyrelsen'' (''BRS'') ** Administration of Conscientious Objector : ''Militærnægteradministrationen'' (''MNA'') ** The Queen's Military Household and Her Majesty the Queen's Captain of the Royal Yacht

Special forces

* SOCOM **

Jægerkorpset The Jaeger Corps also known as the Huntsmen Corps ( da, Jægerkorpset) is an elite special operations force of the Danish Defence part of Special Operations Command, formerly of the Royal Danish Army, based at Aalborg Air Base. History The Ja ...

: Ground-based infiltration unit. ** Frømandskorpset:

Amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

attack and infiltration unit. ** Slædepatruljen Sirius:

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and th ...

unit patrolling the eastern border of

Operations

Current deployment of Danish forces, per 10-03-2016:

NATO

* A Challenger CL-604 MMA for maritime patrol in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

as part of

Allied Maritime Command Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the Commander MARCOM is the prime maritime advisor to the Alliance. When directed by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), it provides the core of th ...

. * 35 soldiers in

participating in NATO's

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2009, becomes self sufficient. KFOR entered Kosovo on 11 June 1999, two days ...

, guarding the French Camp Marechal De Lattre de Tassigny. * 97 people in Afghanistan as part of

Resolute Support Mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Decem ...

. * HDMS Absalon patrolling the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

for

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

''(September 2016)''.

UN

* 20 people in Bamako and Gao, as part of MINUSMA. * 13 people in Juba, as part of UNMISS. * 11 people in Israel, as part of

UNTSO The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) is an organization founded on 29 May 1948 for peacekeeping in the Middle East. Established amidst the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, its primary task was initially to provide the military com ...

. * 2 people in South Korea, as part of UNCMAC.

National Missions

* 12 men on the Sirius Patrol of Eastern Greenland. * A Challenger CL-604 MMA to fly patrol over Greenland. * Rota between HDMS ''Lauge Koch'', HDMS ''Knud Rasmussen'', HDMS ''Triton'' and HDMS ''Thetis'' to enact sovereignty patrol in the seas of Greenland and Faroe Islands. * A Challenger CL-604 MMA to do maritime environmental monitoring missions in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

Coalitions

* 149 people at

Al Asad Airbase Ayn al Asad is an Iraqi Armed Forces base located in Al Anbar Governorate (also called Anbar province) of western Iraq. It was originally known as Qadisiyah Airbase. It was the second largest US military airbase in Iraq during Operation Iraqi ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to train the local military as part of

Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the U.S. military's operational name for the International military intervention against IS, including both a campaign in Iraq and a campaign in Syria, with a closely-related campaign in Libya. Throu ...

. * 8 people operating radars as part of the radar element in Operation Inherent Resolve. * 20 people in UAE as part of the operator element in Operation Inherent Resolve. * Unknown number of Danish

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

to train the local

as part of Flintlock 2016.

Personnel

Women in the military

Women in the military can be traced back to 1946, with the creation of ''Lottekorpset''. This corps allowed women to serve, however, without entering with the normal armed forces, and they were not allowed to carry weapons. In 1962, women were allowed in the military. Currently 1,122 or 7.3% of all personnel in the armed forces are women. Women do not have to serve conscription in Denmark, since 1998, it is however possible to serve under conscription-like circumstances; 17% of those serving conscription or conscription-like are women. Between 1991 and 31 December 2017, 1,965 women have been deployed to different international missions. Of those 3 women have lost their lives. In 1998, Police Constable Gitte Larsen was killed in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

on the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. In 2003, ''Overkonstabel'' Susanne Lauritzen was killed in a traffic accident in

. In 2010, the first woman was killed in a combat situation, when ''Konstabel'' Sophia Bruun was killed by an IED in

. In 2005, Line Bonde became the first female fighter pilot in Denmark. In 2016,

Lone Træholt Lone Træholt is the first woman in the Danish armed forces to obtain the rank of general. On 30 September 2016, she was promoted to brigadier general in the Royal Danish Air Force, heading the Tactical Air Staff. In 2000, Træholt became the firs ...

became the first female general. She was the only female general in the Danish armed forces until the army promoted Jette Albinus to the rank of brigadier general on 11 September 2017. In May 2018, the Royal Life Guards was forced to lower the height requirements for women, as the Danish Institute of Human Rights decided it was discrimination.

Conscription

Technically all Danish 18-year-old males are conscripts (37,897 in 2010, of whom 53% were considered suitable for duty). Due to the large number of volunteers, 96-99% of the number required in the past three years, the number of men actually called up is relatively low (4,200 in 2012). There were additionally 567 female volunteers in 2010, who pass training on "conscript-like" conditions. Conscripts to Danish Defence (army, navy and air force) generally serve four months, except: * Conscripts of the Guard Hussar Regiment Mounted Squadron serve 12 months. * Conscripts with Cyber-conscription, who serve 10 months. * Conscripts aboard the Royal Yacht ''Dannebrog'' serve nine months. * Conscripts in the Danish Emergency Management Agency serve nine months. * Conscripts in the Royal Life Guards serve eight months. There has been a right of conscientious objection since 1917.Alternative service law, 13 December 1917, Article 1

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20130619021047/http://www2.forsvaret.dk/omos/Publikationer/Documents/Fakta%20om%20Forsvaret_DK.pdf *

External links

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One for all, all for one? New Nordic Defence Partnership?
��Publication from the Nordic Council of Ministers. Free download.
Norwegian and Danish defence policy: A comparative study of the post-Cold War era
A historical and comparative study published by the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. Free download. {{Militaries of European Union member states Military of the Faroe Islands Military of Greenland

History

Origins

Cold War and international engagements

Purpose and task

Total defence

Defence budget

Expenditures

Branches

Royal Danish Army

Royal Danish Navy

Royal Danish Air Force

Danish Home Guard

Structure

Special forces

Operations

NATO

UN

National Missions

Coalitions

Personnel

Women in the military

Conscription

See also

References

External links