Overview
- The full reform began on Monday, August 3, 2026, when about 1,600 recruits — mostly volunteers and roughly 20 percent women — started the new 11-month program at 14 training sites.
- The standard service was extended from four months to 11 months, organized as five months of basic training followed by six months of specialized training and operational duties.
- Recruits will be trained for new operational roles such as drone operators, radar assistants, surveillance and emergency response so regular troops can focus on specialist tasks.
- Copenhagen has said recruits may rotate to Greenland and take part in NATO exercises; a company of more than 100 soldiers will deploy to Greenland for the Arctic Endurance exercise in August.
- The government plans a phased scale-up toward roughly 6,500–7,500 annual recruits by 2033, doubling yearly evaluation invitations and keeping any service outside Denmark voluntary.