Women can be drafted into the Danish military as Russian aggression and military investment grow

HOVELTE Denmark AP Peering across a dense stretch of woodland outside of Denmark s capital with camouflage paint smeared across her face -year-old Katrine scans the horizon for approaching threats After nearly four months of military training the young soldier and the rest of her unit spent early June completing their final exercises near the Danish army s barracks in Hovelte kilometers miles north of Copenhagen Katrine and other female soldiers all of whom spoke to The Associated Press on June on the condition that only their first names be used because of operational precaution volunteered for military amenity earlier this year Until now that was the only way women were allowed to partake in military utility although women have been able to enlist as full-time members of the armed forces since the early s The Scandinavian country is seeking to increase the number of young people in the military by extending compulsory enlistment to women for the first time Men and women can both still volunteer and the remaining places will be filled by a gender-neutral draft lottery In the situation the world is in now it s needed Katrine disclosed I think it s only fair and right that women participate equally with men Under new rules passed by Denmark s parliament earlier in June Danish women who turn after Tuesday will be entered into the lottery system on an equal footing with their male compatriots The change comes against a backdrop of Russian aggression and growing military capital across NATO countries Russia s looming threat Even from the relative safety of Denmark Russia s full-scale invasion of Ukraine casts its shadow Lessons from the Ukrainian battlefields have even filtered down into their training That makes it very real Katrine commented Denmark s gender-parity reforms were originally outlined in as part of a major defense agreement The undertaking was originally expected to be implemented by early but has been brought forward to summer Col Kenneth Str m head of the conscription initiative explained AP the move is based on the current guard situation They could take part in NATO collective deterrence Str m added Raising the number of conscripts that would purely lead to more combat power Denmark a nation of million people has about professional troops The new arrangement is expected to bring the figure up to people doing military provision annually by up from last year Under Danish law all physically fit men over age are called up for military provision Several people both men and women volunteer and the rest of the places are filled by a lottery system that until now has only involved men Women supporters make up roughly a quarter of s cohort Various will presumably be very disappointed being chosen to go into the military Anne Sofie part of Katrine s cohort of contributors commented of the new female conscripts Particular will apparently be surprised and like it a lot more than they think they would The duration of organization is also being extended from four to months Conscripts will first spend five months in basic training followed by six months of operational utility plus additional lessons Military buildup The move is part of a broader military buildup by the Nordic nation In February Denmark s establishment stated plans to bolster its military by setting up a billion fund that it commented would raise the country s defense spending to more than of gross domestic product this year Parts of the conscript initiative are being financed by the so-called Acceleration Fund We see a sharpened guard situation in Europe We have the ongoing conflict in Ukraine We have focus on the Baltic countries where Denmark is contributing a lot of soldiers So I think it s a general effort to strengthen the Danish defense commented researcher Rikke Haugegaard from the Royal Danish Defense College But Haugegaard notes there are numerous challenges from ill-fitting equipment and a lack of additional barracks to likely cases of sexual harassment For the next year or two we will be building a lot of new buildings to accommodate all these people So it will be a gradual process she added In neighboring Sweden instituted a military draft for both men and women after its establishment spoke of a deteriorating shield surroundings in Europe Norway introduced its own law applying military conscription to both sexes in Source