DEEP within the Arctic wilderness, the place temperatures plummet to -40°C and daylight is fleeting, an elite unit of Danish particular forces is coaching for battle.
Their mission: to defend Greenland – the huge, ice-clad territory that Donald Trump is eyeing for a possible land seize.
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The subject stays a geopolitical hotbed in mild of the US President’s continued rhetoric.
In his deal with to Congress on Tuesday, Trump stated that Greenland’s individuals had a “alternative” in figuring out their future.
However together with his trademark boldness, he nonetheless vowed to accumulate the island “a technique or one other”.
Whereas the US chief’s intentions are brewing in Washington, Denmark is not taking any probabilities.
There are actual fears the difficulty might escalate right into a US energy play over the Arctic, so Danish particular forces are watching intently.
Its hardest troopers – the Jaeger Corps, Frogmen, and the legendary Sirius Canine Sled Patrol – are sharpening their expertise for any state of affairs, from counter-terrorism to excessive climate warfare.
With Greenland sitting on a trove of uncommon earth minerals and occupying a key strategic place between North America and Europe, the stakes have by no means been greater.
And whereas Denmark’s particular forces prepare for fight, one factor is evident: if anybody tries to take Greenland by drive, they’ll be prepared.
Kristian Kristensen, a senior researcher on the Heart for Navy Research on the College of Copenhagen, stated: “They’re versatile and in a position to function nearly wherever, from the Arctic to the Gulf of Guinea.”
Elite huntsmen
Modelled after the British SAS and US Rangers, the Jaeger Corps – translated because the Huntsmen – are specialists in reconnaissance, sabotage, and high-risk missions behind enemy traces.
Their coaching is totally brutal.
Earlier than even reaching the ultimate choice section, recruits endure months of punishing programs in land navigation, weapons dealing with, and survival techniques.
Solely a handful make the reduce annually.
For the Jaegers, Greenland’s frozen tundra is not only a coaching floor – it is a potential battlefield.
They put together for each potential mission, even these they hope to by no means perform.
“They’re an elite drive inside the Danish army that may be deployed on particular missions in excessive situations,” Kristensen defined.
Jaegers prepare to parachute into Arctic storms, function in whole darkness, and survive on minimal rations for weeks.
They’re taught to construct emergency shelters within the snow and hold weapons operational in sub-zero temperatures.
Throughout previous operations, they’ve infiltrated enemy positions undetected and neutralised high-value targets.
In Greenland, their mission might someday embody stopping unauthorised international incursions — or defending towards one thing far larger.
With Trump’s rising curiosity in Greenland’s strategic location, these missions might quickly embody defending towards hostile incursions – army or in any other case.
Arctic SEALs
If the Jaegers are Denmark’s reply to the SAS, the Frogmen are its Navy SEALs.
These elite maritime commandos specialize in underwater sabotage, amphibious assaults, and hostage rescue operations.
Based in 1957, the unit has operated throughout the globe, from intercepting Somali pirates to secretive intelligence missions.
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In Greenland, the Frogmen prepare to function in frigid waters the place survival time may be measured in minutes.
They conduct stealth insertions beneath the ice, rehearse amphibious landings on frozen shores, and apply destroying enemy infrastructure in temperatures that might cripple most troops.
Kristensen highlighted a little-known operation the place the Frogmen have been deployed within the Arctic — not for army motion, however to de-escalate tensions throughout environmental protests.
Denmark’s particular forces have beforehand been known as upon to reply to incidents in Greenland, together with environmental protests towards Faroese whalers.
“One occasion the place Danish particular forces have been engaged within the Arctic is that some years in the past, there have been demonstrations towards Faroese fishers catching whales,” Kristensen advised The Solar.
“The fishermen have been conducting authorized exercise and these environmental protesters have been comparatively radical and issues might escalate.
“So a Danish presence was vital, and the Frogmen, as an illustration, performed a job in ensuring that that didn’t escalate.”
However their missions in Greenland might develop into much more severe.
As ice caps soften and Arctic waters open up new delivery routes, Denmark is aware of it wants its Frogmen to counter international threats within the area.
Warriors of the ice
Denmark’s Sirius Canine Sled Patrol could be the nation’s most unconventional particular forces unit.
Armed with rifles, survival gear, and groups of hardened sled canines, these two-man patrols cowl 1000’s of miles throughout Greenland’s desolate, snow-covered territory.
Initially shaped throughout World Conflict II to defend Greenland from German invaders, the Sirius Patrol nonetheless screens Denmark’s Arctic sovereignty.
Their mission stays unchanged: to discourage any drive that dares to encroach on the icy frontier.
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Sirius operatives do not simply prepare for Arctic survival – they dwell it.
For as much as 5 months at a time, they navigate Greenland’s huge wilderness alone, counting on their canines, instincts and a lifetime’s value of resilience.
Even Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik as soon as joined a patrol in 1995, cementing the unit’s legendary standing.
Kristensen defined why utilizing canines may be a bonus for the patrollers.
He stated: “That sounds a bit quaint, however it has a really pragmatic cause… whenever you’re on a month-long patrol on the ice sheet.
“And the opposite different could be a snowmobile.
“If that breaks down, you want a storage to repair it, however a canine sled may be mounted on the go.”
For the reason that early Fifties, Sirius has ensured that no unauthorized presence goes unnoticed in Greenland’s northeastern wilderness.
“After which, in fact, the job of the Sirius Patrol is to survey what occurs within the northeastern a part of Greenland and if individuals transfer there who don’t have permission,” Kristensen stated.
“It’s the job of the patrol to fulfill them and say, ‘Hey, you possibly can’t be right here.
“Return or we’ll make sure that you’ll be taken care of and dropped at a facility the place you may be relocated again to your individual nation.’”
Whereas the Jaeger Corps and Frogmen are just like NATO and US particular forces, the Sirius Patrol is exclusive to Denmark.
“The Sirius Patrol is specifically designated to patrolling the northeastern a part of Greenland,” Kristensen famous, underscoring their particular Arctic focus.
Trump’s Greenland gambit
Greenland has develop into a geopolitical hotspot, with Russia increasing its Arctic army presence and China investing within the area’s uncommon minerals.
Then there’s Donald Trump, who says the US “will take it”.
“I believe we’re going to have it,” he advised reporters aboard Air Pressure One earlier this yr, claiming Greenland’s 57,000 residents “need to be with us”.
In the identical breath, he solid doubt on Denmark’s proper to the territory, calling any refusal handy it over a “very unfriendly act” and insisting that US management was important for “the liberty of the world”.
However Denmark is not shopping for it because the nation’s ministers rapidly dismissed Trump’s remarks.
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“‘That received’t occur,’” Danish Defence Minister Trouls Lund Poulsen declared, including that “the path that Greenland needs to take might be determined by Greenlanders”.
Poulsen’s response echoed the sentiment of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who had famously shut down Trump’s earlier Greenland proposal, stating that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
Greenland’s personal PM, Mute Egede, additionally made clear that selections in regards to the island’s future have been Greenland’s enterprise, the BBC reported.
However Trump isn’t backing off. His feedback have despatched shockwaves by Copenhagen, triggering emergency conferences amongst Danish officers.
Kristensen dismissed the concept of the US utilizing army drive to take Greenland as absurd.
“I believe the concept is so outlandish that the US would use army drive,” he stated.
“I believe that it’s tough for me to take a position on how that might translate into operational planning.”
Some analysts even joke that, as a result of Greenland is a part of NATO, the US would paradoxically need to defend it towards itself.
As international powers flip their eyes north, the Danish Huntsmen proceed their gruelling preparations.
Whether or not it’s Jaegers parachuting into Arctic storms, Frogmen surfacing beneath frozen waters, or Sirius patrols braving months of isolation, these elite warriors are sharpening their expertise for the battles that will come.
