What’s Denmark’s plan for defending Greenland? Sled dogs.
Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command, the part of the Danish military focused on Greenland, declined to comment on the resources it has dedicated to defending the island. Analysts said the command, in addition to the seven ships, includes fewer than 150 military personnel; a unit of about a dozen elite soldiers on sleds pulled by dogs; helicopters; and a Challenger surveillance plane. The force is tasked with defending a sparsely populated country that is slightly larger than Mexico and has nearly 30,000 miles of rugged coastline.
In December, hours after Trump said he wanted Greenland, Poulsen pledged to buy two new long-range drones and two extra dogsled teams and upgrade one of Greenland’s three main civilian airports to handle U.S.-made F-35 jet fighters.
Puts more dogs on the job. Who needs the warships anyway?
The hulking warship that Denmark anchors in this icy fishing port is supposed to act as a reminder of the small Nordic country’s role in protecting the Arctic seas at the top of the North American continent.
But last year the Danish navy made an embarrassing admission. Until recently, the 76mm cannon on the patrol boat’s foredeck was largely just for show. For around a decade, it didn’t have a targeting system. It could fire but would have a hard time hitting anything.
The rest of the Danish Joint Arctic Command’s fleet of seven vessels wasn’t in great shape, either. Four larger Danish frigates that patrol in the waters off Greenland are more than three decades old and break down frequently. To cut maintenance costs, the Danes ripped out their submarine-spotting sonar systems, leaving them so denuded of weapons and sensors that former Danish naval commanders doubt they technically count as warships by North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards.
Small northern countries have proven that they can defend their territory from much larger nations. Just ask Finland. The key variable is determination. Denmark could have ten times the army that it does have, but I’m not terribly confident that they could do what for example the Ukrainians have been doing in putting significant amounts of bodies on the line to protect their independence. At this point I’m not sure how many Western Europeans would.
And that’s the real problem.
The Danish performed fairly well in Afghanistan, but sending elite troops into a narrow mission is different than a serious war. A people committed to national defense can fight and win a war with sled dogs. A people who aren’t won’t win with warships and drones.