Young Danes start extended military service

Some 1,600 young Danes began their military service on Monday for 11 months -- a nearly three-fold increase in duration -- as a consequence of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Among them was the country's Princess Isabella, 19, who joined as a conscript at at the Guard Hussar Regiment at Antvorskov Barracks in Slagelse.

Denmark, a NATO member state, decided in 2024 to extend the length of its military service from four months and to open it up to women.

"Well, look east. Need I say more? It is of course the security situation from the Russia perspective and what Russia will be able to do if NATO actually does not do anything," Colonel Michael Villumsen told AFP during a visit to the Oksbol military base in the west of the country.

"Now NATO is doing something and our Danish contribution to this is actually enforcing our combat readiness very quickly through conscription," he said.

In Denmark, conscription is largely voluntary, and if there are not enough recruits others are selected by lottery.

This year, around 20 percent of conscripts are women.

In its new form, military service also involves an expansion of the missions conscripts are called upon to carry out.

The first three to five months are devoted to learning basic military skills such as shooting, first aid and physical training, after which conscripts are assigned to operational missions like surveillance and drone piloting.