Danish Navy Personnel Outflow Leaves Every Fifth Post Vacant

The Danish military has faced a sharp outflow of personnel in the navy, preventing all frigates from being fully deployed in operations.

On the largest ships of the armed forces, every fifth enlisted position and every sixth sergeant position is vacant, DR reported.

Since the beginning of the year, the Navy has recorded what it described in internal documents as a “very worrying” trend.

The outflow of personnel has been greater than usual. Despite the prospect of higher pay and a large-scale recruitment campaign, the navy has not been able to halt the decline in staffing.

The situation is particularly difficult on frigates.

There is a shortage of nearly one in five, or 19%, among enlisted personnel. In the middle command group (NCOs), one in six positions on board remains vacant.

These servicemembers are responsible for operating the frigates, controlling key weapons systems, and performing other duties.

If all categories of personnel on board are included — enlisted personnel, NCOs, and officers — the shortage is about 15%. This means one in seven positions currently remains open.

The figures come from an internal confidential document obtained by DR. It described the situation as “very worrying.”
“Our work is generally very stressful every day. We have to perform more functions and replace each other more often.

There are tasks that simply are not being completed. And when they are not fulfilled, it puts us in a weaker position than we would be if we were to one day find ourselves in a combat situation,” sailor Mads Søndergaard said.

The Danish navy has a total of 12 ships that perform tasks in the North Atlantic and near Greenland or are involved in missions and exercises in other parts of the world. However, due to staffing losses, ships are constantly forced to borrow personnel from one another to put to sea.

Last year, it was announced that Denmark plans to redesign future patrol ships for operations in the Arctic and the Atlantic Ocean, strengthening its presence in Greenland.