The Danish Armed Forces is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its self-governing territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The military also promote Denmark's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.
The Royal Danish Army is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training methods, abandoning its traditional role of anti-invasion defence, and instead focusing on out of area operations by, among other initiatives, reducing the size of the conscripted and reserve components and increasing the active component, changing from 60% support structure and 40% operational capability, to 60% combat operational capability and 40% support structure. When fully implemented, the Danish army will be capable of deploying 1,500 troops permanently on three different continents continuously, or 5,000 troops for a shorter period of time, in international operations without any need for extraordinary measures such as parliamentary approval of a war funding bill.
The Norwegian Armed Forces is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Home Guard, and Norwegian Cyber Defence Force as well as several joint departments.
The National Defence Radio Establishment is a Swedish government agency organised under the Ministry of Defence. The two main tasks of FRA are signals intelligence (SIGINT), and support to government authorities and state-owned companies regarding computer security.
The Military Prosecution Service or Judge Advocate General's Corps is a Danish independent military prosecutor and the legal branch of the Danish military. It is a Level.I command and is under the Ministry of Defence. The Judge Advocate General heads the Defence Judge Advocate Corps. It is located at Kastellet in Copenhagen.
The Danish Defence Estates and Infrastructure Organisation (DDEO), is a Level.I authority, directly under the Danish Ministry of Defence. It was created in 2014 after the Construction and Establishments Service was reorganized, due to the Defence Agreement 2013-17.
The Minister of Defence of Denmark is the politically appointed head of the Danish Ministry of Defence. The Minister of Defence is responsible for the Danish Armed Forces, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Emergency Management Agency.
The Danish Defence Intelligence Service, DDIS, is a Danish intelligence agency, responsible for Denmark’s foreign intelligence, as well as being the Danish military intelligence service. DDIS is an agency under the Ministry of Defence and works under the responsibility of the Minister of Defence. It is housed at Kastellet, Copenhagen.
The Danish Defence Command (DCD) (Danish: Forsvarskommando, FKO) is the Danish joint military command and the top coordination and controlling authority of the Danish Armed Forces. It is a Level I command authority, directly under the Ministry of Defence.
Danish Defence Research Establishment short FOFT was the consultative, guiding and promotion organ in the scientific and technical area for the Danish Armed Forces. It was an independent institute under the Ministry of Defence. FOFT was located on Svanemøllens Barracks in Copenhagen.
The Royal Danish Air Force ranks follow the NATO system of ranks and insignia, as does the rest of the Danish Defence. The ranks used are based on the Royal Air Force, with some minor changes. For example, three strips in the RAF is an OF-4, while only an OF-3 in Denmark.
The Danish Defence IT Agency is a joint service under the Danish Defence Command, tasked with service and support of IT-equipment in the Danish Armed Forces. In 2014, it was placed under the control of the Acquisition and Logistics Organization.
The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) is a joint service unit under the Ministry of Defence, tasked with purchase, service and support of equipment within the Danish Defence. It used to be known as the Danish Defence Material Service.
The Joint Arctic Command is a direct Level II authority in the Danish Defence. Joint Arctic Command's primary mission in peacetime is to ensure Danish sovereignty by monitoring the area around the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The command also handles tasks such as fisheries inspection, search and rescue (SAR), patient transport and other tasks that support the civil society. In short, the Joint Arctic Command handles military tasks, coast guard duties and disaster response - all in one organisation.
Conscription in Denmark is mandatory for all physically fit men over the age of 18, according to the Constitution of Denmark, §81 and the Danish Law of Conscription, §2. The service lasts between 4 and 12 months. Women may participate, but are not obligated to conscription. Under the Danish Realm and protected by the Danish Defence, men from Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not required to serve as conscripts.
The Royal Danish Navy ranks follows the NATO system of ranks and insignia, as does the rest of the Danish Defence. Outside this ranking system there are physicians, nurses and veterinarians, while priests and judicial personnel wear completely different insignia and are without rank.
The Chief of the Army Command is the service chief of the Royal Danish Army. The current chief is Major general Gunner Arpe Nielsen.
The Danish Defence Maintenance Service is the element of the Danish Defence responsible for maintenance and service for all equipment.
Operation Dunhammer was an internal investigation conducted by the Danish Defence Intelligence Service which concluded the agency cooperated with the American National Security Agency to wiretap senior politicians, government officials, and government entities of certain European Union countries.
