Denmark's Expanded Conscription — 11 Months, Including Women — Takes Effect

Denmark's overhauled military conscription model came into force on August 3, 2026, with roughly 1,600 young Danes — including, for the first time, women on an equal footing with men — beginning an 11-month service period (five months basic training, six months operational duty) across 14 bases nationwide, up from the previous 4-month term. Target annual enrollment will rise from 5,000 to 7,500 conscripts by 2033, and conscripts may now be deployed to Greenland for operational duties. The reform, explicitly framed by Danish officials as a response to Russia's threat and doubts about US/NATO reliability under the Trump administration, is a concrete marker of the broader European trend toward self-reliant defense buildup.