Around 1,600 Danish recruits began an expanded military conscription program on Monday, entering an 11-month period of service as Denmark steps up its defense preparations amid growing concerns over Arctic security and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In 2024, Denmark announced plans to extend compulsory military service to women for the first time and lengthen the standard term from four months to 11 months. The government also plans to raise the annual number of conscripts from approximately 5,000 to 7,500 by 2033.
The latest group of recruits is set to arrive as Denmark prepares for its first deployment of conscripts to Greenland later this month. More than 100 soldiers will form a company that will spend a month on the semi-autonomous territory, assuming operational responsibilities previously handled by professional military personnel.
The deployment comes against a politically sensitive backdrop. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to bring Greenland under U.S. control, arguing that the territory is important to American national security. Both Greenlandic and Danish authorities have firmly rejected the proposal.
At last month’s NATO summit in Ankara, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized her country’s commitment to protecting the alliance’s territory, saying Denmark was prepared to defend every part of NATO territory, including its own.
For 19-year-old Silas Nohr, a first-day recruit from Varde in western Denmark, the longer service period is a positive development. He said the extended training would allow recruits to become more immersed in military life, gain greater experience and develop a deeper understanding of service.
Under the revised program, recruits will spend their first five months undergoing basic military training, followed by six months of operational duties. The Danish Armed Forces are also creating specialized conscription options, including a drone platoon within the Special Operations Command.
Denmark’s conscription system applies through a lottery to healthy young people reaching the age of 18. However, for many years, most military recruits have volunteered, with the lottery primarily being used to make up any shortfall in the required numbers.
Denmark is part of a wider group of Nordic and Baltic countries that maintain conscription-based military systems. Sweden, Finland and Norway also require military service under their respective systems, while Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania operate similar conscription programs.
