Denmark Begins Deploying Conscripts to Greenland Amid US Interest

The Danish government has announced it will begin deploying conscripts to Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory coveted by United States President Donald Trump. “Conscripts will be deployed alongside professional soldiers and will participate fully in all missions,” Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus said in response to a parliamentary question, as reported by AFP news agency on Wednesday (24/6/2026). Danish television station TV2 previously reported that the military was considering deploying conscripts to Greenland, where the armed forces have already strengthened their presence in response to pressure from the United States. US Vice President JD Vance last year accused Denmark of neglecting the security of its vast Arctic territory. Tensions escalated around Greenland after Trump threatened to annex the Danish territory to protect US security. However, Trump later softened his threats, announcing that he had reached a “framework” agreement on Greenland with the NATO secretary general, without providing details. Last year, Denmark extended the conscription period to 11 months and opened the opportunity to women in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine. With the longer service period, “the conscripts are trained so that they can participate in the execution of armed forces missions,” Bruus said. In Greenland, “the conscripts will be assigned to tasks that do not require longer, specialised training,” he added. However, he did not specify when the conscripts would begin arriving or how many would be stationed there.