""If we can't trust the Americans and the Russians are actually winning, then we are in a completely new world," the Royal Danish Defence College's Peter Viggo Jacobsen told DW. "That has been the official messaging from the government since February of last year, and that's the environment that these youngsters are coming into.""
""This is definitely a very big day for Danish defense," the head of Danish Defence Command's conscription program, Col. Kenneth Strom, told DW. "It makes the possibility to have more combat power and have the combat power faster.""
Haderslev was the last place Danish forces fought on home soil in 1940 during the German invasion. In 2025 Denmark extended mandatory military service from four to 11 months and removed women's right to decline service, making conscription gender-neutral. The security environment has intensified after Russia's full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine and increased hybrid attacks. U.S. unpredictability, including President Donald Trump's refusal to rule out force over Greenland and perceived apathy toward NATO, contributed to Copenhagen's decision. The first class of conscripts began training at Haderslev barracks, with officials saying the change delivers more combat power faster.
Read at www.dw.com
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