Denmark’s elite Jægerkorpset is taking on conscripts for the first time since 2004, and 72 preselected recruits are competing this week for 34 places in the unit’s Patruljedeling.
The final of three days of selection tests took place on Thursday, DR reports. Tuesday was devoted to strength tests and Wednesday to swimming. The last day consisted of personal interviews and a 10 kilometer march.
Three groups of 24 conscripts were preselected by the Danish Defence for the trials. The 34 who are chosen will from Monday share an address with Jægerkorpset at Flyvestation Aalborg. Conscripts in the Patruljedeling will support the carrying out of special operations and work close to the special forces.
Ryan Andersen, platoon leader for the Patruljedeling, told DR that the unit demands something extraordinary and that the service will be harder than normal conscription. Colonel Kenneth Strøm, head of the conscription program, said the track requires physical strength but above all mental strength.
High dropout in Holstebro
The Patruljedeling is the only conscript education in the Danish Defence with a physical test that applicants must pass. The aspirants have been conscripts for almost two weeks, including a running test requiring at least 2,400 meters in 12 minutes. DR followed one group based in Holstebro, where 24 candidates had already been reduced to 14.
Per Andersen, the dropouts were due to a mix of physical and mental shortcomings. He needs 11 recruits from Holstebro, and said he will accept it if fewer complete the tests. He described the remaining candidates as motivated and said he expects all 14 to pass.
The first three months of the program resemble ordinary conscription. After that, the schedule adds special exercises, including at night. Trucks do not accompany the exercises, and conscripts must learn to cover long distances alone with only a backpack, on exercises that can last up to 10 days.
Willingness to be deployed abroad is a requirement in the Patruljedeling. For other Danish conscripts, deployment remains voluntary if the opportunity arises. Andersen said the unit works normally with patrol aspirants who have spent years in the armed forces, while conscripts are a more fragile group that must be handled carefully.
Strøm said the new type of conscription is also about recruiting more people to stay in the Defence and in the special forces over time. Andersen said he hopes to see the participants again two or three years after their service ends, after they gain routine and training in the regiments.
Only DR appears to have covered the selection event. Berlingske reports separately that the government is working on a plan for a new mobilization force built from many thousands of former conscripts. Broader context on Denmark’s defense spending plans has been reported previously.
