RT.com
31 Mar 2023, 04:13 GMT+10
The Danish military ?lacks soldiers like never before,? according to a top commander
The Danish military's second-in-command has warned that the country is "years" away from having a combat-capable army, according to comments he made this week to the government-owned TV 2 broadcaster.
Brigadier General Henrik Lyhne said Denmark's military is facing what he referred to as its worst staffing issue in decades - a factor which he said will complicate efforts to meet Copenhagen's NATO obligations. He added that low wages and below-par personnel housing have contributed to an exodus from the armed forces. This, in turn, has led to problems in Denmark supplying troops to the US-led military bloc's eastern flank in Latvia.
"This is an emergency call," Lynhe said in an interview broadcast on Monday. "The situation is extremely critical, especially because we lack soldiers like never before. I have been in the armed forces for 40 years, and it has never looked so bad."
He added that approximately 20-25% of positions in the Danish military are currently vacant, and that even if "more money is injected soon" it would take years to restore it to previous standards.
A key issue, Lyhne said, is the unpreparedness of Denmark's 1st Brigade, known as the 'Army's First', which is around 1,000 soldiers short of its expected complement of 4,000, according to an internal memo from the Ministry of Defense.
According to TV 2, which reported on the memo, the document states that Denmark is meeting just three of NATO's 17 strength objectives. This relates to various military hardware goals, such as delivering short-range air defense systems to the army. This has led to rebukes from NATO staff as well as the UK and the US, according to TV 2's reporting of the ministry memo.
NATO determined in a 2020 evaluation of Denmark's military that there was already a "critical deficit" in its military which would likely render it "practically useless in a sharp conflict."
In response to Lyhne's comments, Danish acting defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen told TV 2 this week that the country's military situation was "critical." Danish military analyst Jens Wenzel Kristofferson questioned, also to TV 2, if Denmark can consider itself a "core ally" to NATO when it lags so far behind in military requirements.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Denmark Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Denmark Sun.
More InformationPARIS, France: According to a report by BFM TV, Britain's King Charles is considering a visit to France in September, ...
ISTANBUL, Turkey: In an interview with Reuters, Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, (IATA), said airlines are ...
PARIS, France: European plane manufacturer Airbus is reported to be close to a record agreement to sell 500 narrow-body jets ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Officials in Ireland have reported that 15,589 Ukrainian students were enrolled in schools last month.Throughout Europe, Ireland continues ...
MOSCOW, Russia: Journalists from countries that are "unfriendly" to Russia will be banned from covering this year's St. Petersburg International ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Pentagon said this week that the satellite communications service started by billionaire Elon Musk, SpaceX's Starlink, has ...
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM - Vietnam's long-awaited national power development plan, aimed at achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050, ...
Paris [France], June 9 (ANI): Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud will face German tennis star Alexander Zverev in the second ...
NewsVoirBangalore (Karnataka) [India], June 9: In the spirit of producing world-class watches that tell stories from India, Bangalore Watch Companytrade;celebrates ...
Corey Conners has enjoyed several quality performances in the majors, and the Ontario native said this week that his national ...
The bloc is trying to adopt common refugee and asylum rules based on ?mandatory solidarity?The European Union's migration ministers have ...
Nikolaj "niko" Kristensen announced over social media Thursday that he is looking for employment now that his second stint with ...