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The Danish Home Guard (Danish: Hjemmeværnet) (HJV) is the fourth service of the Danish military, formerly concerned only with the defence of Danish territory, but since 2008, it has also participated in forward operating base guard duties in Afghanistan. Service is voluntary and unpaid, except that the most basic expenses are covered. Albeit workshop and depot staff plus clerks and senior officers are all paid. The unarmed Women's Army Corps (Lottekorpset) was merged in 1989 with the then all-male Home Guard to form the present, armed unisex Home Guard.

Its top authority is the Home Guard Command (HJK), which, unlike Army Operational Command (HOK), Admiral Danish Fleet (SOK) and Tactical Air Command (FTK), is managed directly by the Danish Ministry of Defence (FMN). Only in times of tension and war will the Danish Defence Command (FKO) assume command over the Home Guard.

Organization

The Danish Home Guard is jointly headed by Major General Finn Winkler (since May 2010) and usually a member of the Danish Parliament. October 27 2009 the former MP and until the 2007 merger mayor of the now disbanded old Lejre municipality Jens Hald Madsen from the centre-right party Venstre became the political leader

As of 2004, it consists of 58,640 active members, of whom 9,152 are women. It is divided into four branches:

The Army Home Guard (Hærhjemmeværnet) HHV is numerically the largest part of the Home Guard, and works closely with the regular army.
*Denmark is divided into five Total Defence Regions TFR, led by professional full-service colonels, and subdivided into 15 Army Home Guard Districts HHD, led by professional full-service majors.
*Every municipality has at least one "army home guard company" - HVK, led by an unpaid captain.
*The Police Home Guard (Politihjemmeværnet) PO-HJV consists of 47 Police Home Guard companies, led by professional police officers. The volunteers have slightly more legal authority than other citizens. Used for traffic control at festivals, searches for victims and guarding community installations. In peacetime they are never used where there are risks of direct confrontation with civilians (riot control or planned arrests). The companies are part of the Army Home Guard.

The Air Force Home Guard (Flyverhjemmeværnet) FHV, deals with securing airports, aerial environmental patrols of national waters (oil spill observation) and reporting enemy air activity.
*Denmark is divided into Western and Eastern Air Force Home Guard Districts, led by professional full-service Squadron Leaders, plus a department on Bornholm.
*Municipalities with airfields or in the vicinity of airports have "air force home guard squadrons" - HVE (100-150 riflemen), led by unpaid Flight Lieutenants.
*As a trial, Flyverhjemmeværnet is leasing four civilian general aviation aircraft, flown by members possessing Private Pilot's License.

The Naval Home Guard (Marinehjemmeværnet) MHV deals with securing naval installations, patrolling of the Danish territorial waters, and aids in Search and Rescue missions.
*Denmark is divided into Western and Eastern Naval Home Guard Districts, led by professional full-service Lieutenant Commanders.
*39 coastal municipalities have "naval home guard flotillas" - HVF (100-150 riflemen or a small vessel), led by unpaid kaptajnløjtnanter (naval lieutenants).

The Infrastructure Home Guard (Virksomhedshjemmeværnet) VHV ensures that civilian companies and authorities continue operating during times of crisis or catastrophe.
*Employees at power plants, water works and purification plants can participate in the four Energihjemmeværnet HJVK VE-companies.
*Employees at railway companies can participate in the six Jernbanehjemmeværnet HJVK VJ-companies. Predecessor founded in 1913.
*Employees in postal services can participate in the eight Posthjemmeværnet HJVK VP-companies.
*Employees at telecommunications companies can participate in the eight Telehjemmeværnet HJVK VT-companies. Predecessor founded in 1914.
*They assist in keeping their places of work intact and prevent sabotage with use of lethal force

Today
As the situation is today, the Patrols are organized at two levels:

1. At Divisional/Corps-Level, with one PTLCOY: the "Patruljekompagniet" - a company size Long-Range Surveillance Company (LRSC) for national operations, assigned to the Danish Army Operational Command (AOC). PTLCOY changed its name in 2007 and isnow called "Hjemmeværnets Særlig Støtte- og Rekognosceringskompagni", meaning "Homeguard Special Support and Reconnaissance Company", shortened to SSR. They are now available to all Danish Defence Commands and is closely linked with the Jager and Frogmen SF elements including getting some of the same exclusive gear like combat-vests and XL-military rub-sacks Special Support and Reconnaissance Company[1]

2. At Home Guard Battalion-Level, with Platoon size local scout/patrol platoons assigned to some of the local 23 HG Battalions.


SSR is an unique Long-Range Surveillance Company is well trained and carries sophisticated equipment. The SSR patrols are the equivalent of the U.S. Army Divisional Long-Range Surveillance Companies. SSR-troopers are capable of performing a variety of missions, such as surveillance, direct action etc. with insertions from the sea, air or land.

Training is conducted with Danish and foreign Special Operations units and Long-Range Surveillance units, in Denmark and abroad.

Members of the SSR are all-out volunteers recruited from all over the Danish Home Guard. The men rank from Private to Captain.

Although the SSR is of Home Guard origin, it is a unit specialized in recognition and tactical intelligence. The doctrine, in terms of recruiting, training and organizing its troops, are based on that of the U.S. Army's Long-Range Surveillance Units. SSR are currently meant to relief SF's of some reconnaissance pressure etc. just like the Jagerkorps VIP Protection Team course is meant to relief SF operators of some of the military VIP protection duties in places like Iraq.

The Scoutpatrols, "Patrulje Indsats", of the Army Home guard Battalions are organized into platoon-sized scout-units with limited range and capabilities and is the sharpest edge of the reaction Home guard "Indsats" since SSR isn't technically a normal Home guard unit but is even more closely linked to full time SF operations and the MOTINF units are not as physically demanding as scout patrols and is not required to move behind enemy lines etc. Scout patrols can basic conduct scout-patrols in enemy area for 48 hours, and have no LRS capabilities. Some of the scout platoons carry the name of "Patruljekompagni" (PTLCOY) for historical reasons, but has no patrolling capability beyond platoon-level. Only the official SSR can be labelled LRSC in military terms. This was also stated by the Danish Minister of Defence in an answer to the Danish Parliament: "(The Home Guard) establishes one Patrol company to the Army Operational Command, and there will be established patrol-platoons at all Home Guard Districts." [2]

The scout patrols are capable of performing patrolling but also should be able to function as the district level multi-functional tool that can step into any role required reasonably without wide SF training or resources of SSR or full time SF operators. Many scout platoon members are former full time military personal from scout units or former SSR etc. that needed to step down time usage due to civilian jobs or personal reasons. There are also individuals moving often between scout platoons and SSR, and from both its often seen members seeking normal recruitment for full time SF service after some time in this environment. Scout platoons are able, as one of few army units in the world, to get the same combat diving education by the Frogmen as all SSR operators - given they live up to the physical requirements before applying. Scout platoon regularly receive training from SSR and SF elements in their skills, most publicly seen before international patrolling exercises like Erna Raid. Also like all military personal the Jagerkorps VIP Protection Team course is available and some scout platoon members have had several tours as such. However some of the scout platoons seems to be "training" missions well outside their area of operations as can be seen and read on private web pages made by these scout platoons themselves.

The methods of recruiting, screening and training individual troops, vary widely even to a level below MOTINF units or way above full time units in a few instances. This is some cases due to problems with recruitment and retainment in the all volunteer scout platoons, since the basic patrolling-missions at Home guard battalion-level, has been widely ignored for years. Also many scout platoons have few fully operational units so while they ideally can be used as an expert enemy element with local know-how for on the Danish annually SF training operations like NightHawk they often lack numbers. This is often due to the disability of getting enough dedicated personnel at the high weekly requirement of hours used for maintaining or training up to the readiness standard.

However recently some scout platoons have been involved with VIP protection at COP15. Also limited numbers have been getting military speedboat licenses, VIP protection training by MP's and other training from Navy MP's and Navel Home Guard personal due to special relations formed when a number of experienced scout platoon operators and other material experts were recruited for training Navel Home Guard in land/Urban warfare. Most of these members migrated back to scout platoons since higher commands was to slow or negligent at routing specialized material needed for such a high activity unit since Navel Home Guard had problems just filling MOTBON Indsats (Motorized infantry in reaction force in Navel Home Guard) with required gear. Ironically m4 versions called M96 was one of the biggest issues for the Navy but also one of the most usefully since these could be very useful at harbours, in vans used and on ships for both MOTBON and this abandoned instructor/high training unit - the army has tons of these since they are standard scout platoon equipment just like red-dot sights, m203 grenade launchers, AT4's and military explosives. On the gear side scout platoons generally tends to have to buy gear like combat-vests, ranger compasses and GPS equipment suited for even their basic patrol needs since theses are not provided or only in too small quantities like 2-4 compasses for an entire scout platoon. This goes in tradition of the Danish military where only the men on international missions are given state of the art a few months or weeks in advance - even the Frogmen in the old days had problem just getting outdated sharp shooting rifles for many years (they do use MSG-90 today) and recycles and repairs equipment where SEAL's and other training peers just replace as Frogmen noted in interviews about their history.

General missions tasked to scout/patrol-platoons in the Home guard:

Reconnaissance, Stationary Surveillance, Limited Direct Action,

Extracurricular (un-official) training at some Scout/patrol-platoons:

Sabotage, Counter-Terrorism, Urban Warfare, Close protection. Extracurricular private SWAT-training received from instructors from Homestead P.D. SWAT, see [3]

Capabilities at the SSR (LRSC) the "Patruljekompagniet" LRSC-mission planning and execution, recognition, Sea, air and land infiltrations, e.g. Combatswimming-training at Danish Navy SEAL's "Frømandskorpset".

http://www.hjv.dk/Eng/Sider/forside.aspx
http://www.hjv.dk/HHV/omhaerhjemmevaernet/Sider/generelt.aspx
 
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