Denmark begins extended military conscription in response to Russia, Trump

Around 1,600 Danish military recruits on Monday began the country’s new extended conscription, embarking on an 11-month service period as Denmark accelerates its defense build-up driven by Arctic security pressures and the war in Ukraine.

Denmark said in 2024 it would extend conscription to include women for the first time and increase standard service time to 11 months from four, while the number of conscripts is set to increase to 7,500 annually by 2033 from 5,000.

The new intake arrives as Denmark prepares to deploy conscripts to Greenland for the first time later this month, with a company of more than 100 soldiers set to serve for one month, taking over operational tasks from professional troops.

The deployment carries added political weight as U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory, citing national security, a demand firmly rejected by the governments of Greenland and Denmark.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at last month’s NATO summit in Ankara said her nation was ready to defend every inch of territory in the military alliance, “including our own”.

Silas Nohr, a 19-year-old first-day conscript from the town of Varde in western Denmark, said he welcomed the longer service period.

“Now we have 11 months, and I feel like you can really get into it, really experience it and get a lot deeper into the military,” he said.

The new recruits face five months of basic training followed by six months of operational service. The Danish Armed Forces are also introducing new conscription tracks, including a drone platoon at the Special Operations Command.

The Nordic country’s program operates as a ballot system for all healthy young adults who turn 18, but has for many years consisted almost entirely of volunteers, with the lottery used only to fill remaining quotas.

Nordic neighbors Sweden, Finland and Norway also have a conscription-based military service, as does the Baltic region of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

周一，约 1600 名丹麦新兵开始执行该国新的延长征兵制，服役期为 11 个月。丹麦正加快国防建设，以应对北极安全压力和乌克兰战争。

丹麦在 2024 年表示，将首次把征兵范围扩大到女性，并将标准服役时间从 4 个月增加到 11 个月，同时到 2033 年，每年应征入伍人数将从 5,000 人增加到 7,500 人。

新一批士兵抵达之际，丹麦正准备在本月晚些时候首次向格陵兰岛部署义务兵，一支由 100 多名士兵组成的连队将在那里服役一个月，接管职业部队的作战任务。

此次部署具有额外的政治意义，因为美国总统唐纳德·特朗普曾多次以国家安全为由，试图吞并丹麦的半自治领土格陵兰，但这一要求遭到了格陵兰和丹麦政府的坚决拒绝。

丹麦首相梅特·弗雷德里克森在上个月于安卡拉举行的北约峰会上表示，丹麦已准备好保卫该军事联盟的每一寸领土，“包括我们自己的领土”。

来自丹麦西部瓦尔德镇的19岁新兵西拉斯·诺尔表示，他欢迎延长服役期。

“现在我们有 11 个月的时间，我觉得你可以真正投入其中，真正体验它，并更深入地了解军队，”他说。

新兵将接受五个月的基础训练，随后进行六个月的作战服役。丹麦武装部队还在推行新的征兵项目，包括在特种作战司令部设立无人机排。

这个北欧国家的计划采用抽签制度，面向所有年满 18 岁的健康青年，但多年来几乎完全由志愿者组成，抽签仅用于填补剩余名额。

北欧邻国瑞典、芬兰和挪威也实行征兵制，波罗的海地区的爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚和立陶宛也是如此。