Danish Defence popular with young people

An increasing number of young people seek a military career in the Danish Defence. In 2005, Danish Defence received a total of 3,600 applications for military and trainee positions. In 2009, Danish Defence received 7,000 applications, and in the first eight months of 2010, 4,100 applications have been received.

- The way we see it, there's an increasing interest in a career with the Danish Defence. Things look very good, and we have no problems recruiting soldiers, says press officer with the Danish Defence personnel division, Torben Grinderslev.

- We expect to reach the 2009 level, but there's a definite possibility that we'll exceed it, he says.

Media coverage and financial crisis
Torben Grinderslev thinks media coverage is part of the reason why Danish Defence currently finds recruiting easy.

- Part of the explanation is that there's a lot of media focus on the Danish Defence, and there has been for the past few years. Additionally, the financial crisis probably plays a part, since people have a harder time finding civilian jobs, and therefore choose to apply for Danish Defence positions because they are both interesting and exciting, says Torben Grinderslev.

Today, positions in all fields of the Danish Defence are in great demand, whether it is officers' training, training to be an enlisted private, or special forces training.

- Back before 2005, we actually had problems finding enough applicants. We had a lot of open positions in our organization. Today, that problem has been solved. All our positions are filled, and unfortunately we have to turn down a lot of people. Of course, that's lamentable, but on the other hand we are very happy that we can fill our vacancies, says Torben Grinderslev.