Women to be drafted into Danish military amid rising Russian aggression

Peering across a dense stretch of woodland outside of Denmarks capital with camouflage paint smeared across her face 20yearold Katrine scans the horizon for approaching threatsAfter 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 armys barracks in Hovelte 25 kilometres north of CopenhagenKatrine and other female soldiers all of whom spoke to The Associated Press on June 11 on the condition that only their first names be used because of operational security volunteered for military service earlier this year Until now that was the only way for women to be part of the armed forcesThe 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 genderneutral draft lotteryIn the situation the world is in now its needed Katrine said I think its only fair and right that women participate equally with menUnder new rules passed by Denmarks parliament earlier in June Danish women who turn 18 after Tuesday will be entered into the lottery system on equal footing with their male compatriots The change comes against a backdrop of Russian aggression and growing military investment across NATO countriesRussias looming threatEven from the relative safety of Denmark Russias fullscale invasion of Ukraine casts its shadow Lessons from the Ukrainian battlefields have even filtered down into their trainingThat makes it very real Katrine saidDenmarks genderparity reforms were originally outlined in 2024 as part of a major defence agreement The program was originally expected to be implemented by early 2027 but has been brought forward to summer 2025Col Kenneth Strom head of the conscription program told AP the move is based on the current security situationThey could take part in NATO collective deterrence Strom added Raising the number of conscripts would simply lead to more combat powerDenmark a nation of 6 million people has about 9000 professional troops The new arrangement is expected to bring up to 6500 annual conscripts by 2033 up from 4700 last yearUnder Danish law all physically fit men over age 18 are called up for military service But because there are usually enough volunteers theres a lottery system so not all young men serve Women by contrast could only volunteer previously making up roughly a quarter of 2024s cohortSome will probably be very disappointed being chosen to go into the military Anne Sofie part of Katrines cohort of volunteers said of the new female conscripts Some will probably be surprised and like it a lot more than they think they wouldThe duration of service is also being extended from four to 11 months Conscripts will first spend five months in basic training followed by six months of operational service plus additional lessonsMilitary buildupThe move is part of a broader military buildup by the Nordic nationIn February Denmarks government announced plans to bolster its military by setting up a USD 7 billion fund that it said would raise the countrys defence spending to more than 3 per cent of gross domestic product this year Parts of the conscription program are being financed by the socalled Acceleration FundWe see a sharpened security situation in Europe We have the ongoing conflict in Ukraine We have focused on the Baltic countries where Denmark is contributing a lot of soldiers So I think its a general effort to strengthen the Danish defence said researcher Rikke Haugegaard from the Royal Danish Defence CollegeBut Haugegaard notes there are many challenges from illfitting equipment and a lack of additional barracks to potential cases of sexual harassmentFor 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 addedIn 2017 neighbouring Sweden instituted a military draft for both men and women after its government spoke of a deteriorating security environment in Europe Norway introduced its own law applying military conscription to both sexes in 2013This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever