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Looking through an expanse of dense wood outside the capital of Denmark with a camouflage painting coated on his face, Katrine, 20, scans the horizon to approach threats.
After almost four months of military training, the young soldier and the rest of his unit spent in early June finishing their final exercises near the Danish army barracks in Hullte, 25 kilometers north of Copenhagen.
Katrine and other soldiers, who all spoke to the Associated Press on June 11 provided that only their first names were used due to operational security, volunteered for military service earlier this year. So far, it was the only way for women to be part of the armed forces.
The Scandinavian country seeks to increase the number of young people in the army by extending for the first time the compulsory enrollment to women. Men and women can both volunteer, and other places will be filled with a neutral draft lottery.
“In the situation in which the world is now, it is necessary,” said Katrine. “I think it’s just and just that women also participate with men.”
Under the new rules adopted by the Denmark Parliament earlier in June, Danish women who were 18 years after Tuesday will have entered the lottery system, on an equal footing with their male compatriots. The change comes in the context of Russian assault and growing military investments in NATO countries.
Move depending on the “current security situation”: head of the conscription program
Even from the relative security of Denmark, the large -scale invasion of Ukraine in Russia throws its shadow. The lessons of the Ukrainian battlefields even filtered their training.
“It makes him very real,” said Katrine.
Denmark reforms on gender were initially described in 2024 as part of a major defense agreement. The program was initially to be implemented in early 2027, but was presented in the summer of 2025.
Colonel Kenneth Strøm, head of the conscription program, told AP that the decision is based on “the current security situation”.
“They could participate in the collective deterrence of NATO,” added Strøm. “Increasing the number of conscripts would simply lead to more combat power.”
Denmark, a nation of six million people, has around 9,000 professional soldiers. The new arrangement should bring up to 6,500 annual conscripts by 2033, against 4,700 last year.
Under Danish law, all men in physical fitness over 18 are called for military service. But because there are generally enough volunteers, there is a lottery system, so all young men are not used. Women, on the other hand, could only be volunteering before, representing about a quarter of the 2024 cohort.
“Some will probably be very disappointed to be chosen to go to the army,” said Anne Sofie, who is part of the Katrine volunteer cohort, about the new female conscripts. “Some will probably be surprised and will love him much more than they think.”
The duration of the service is also extended by four to 11 months. Conscripts will first spend five months in basic training, followed by six months of operational service, as well as additional lessons.
A “progressive process” of military construction
This decision is part of a broader military accumulation by the Nordic nation.
In February, the Denmark government announced its intention to strengthen its soldiers by creating an American fund of $ 7 billion which, according to him, would increase the country’s defense expenses to more than 3% of the gross domestic product this year. Some parts of the conscript program are funded by the so-called acceleration fund.
“We see a sharp security situation in Europe. We have the current conflict in Ukraine. We focused on the Baltic countries, where Denmark contributes many soldiers. So I think it is a general effort to strengthen Danish defense,” said researcher Rikke Haugegaard of the Royal Danish Defense College.
But Haugegaard notes that there are many challenges, poorly adjusted equipment and a lack of additional barracks, with potential cases of sexual harassment.
“For the next two years, we build many new buildings to welcome all these people. So it will be a progressive process,” she added.
In 2017, neighboring Sweden instituted a military project for men and women after its government spoke of deterioration in the security environment in Europe. Norway introduced its own law applying a military conscription to both sexes in 2013
