I guess we will see in 3 years time to see if he volunteers. I think he might, being the oldest grandchild of the Queen.
Interesting to see if the DRF girls will join.
The Queen did some training right? and Mary and Marie too? (or I might be thinking something else)
QMII was a WAC = Women's Auxillary Corps. That doesn't exist anymore though. But there were still WACs when I was in the army.
Mary is a lieutenant in the Army Home Guard and received basic training there. As well as basic NCO and officers training. In reality she is actually a patron, because I doubt very much she clocked enough hours yearly in active service nor at the shooting range to strictly speaking qualify her to be an active member.
Our Marie is a member of the Civil Defence and has a rank equivalent to first lieutenant. She has taken part in several courses and also completed the basic training. Again she is in reality a patron because she has AFAIK not taken an active part in anything even though her column has been called out several times.
Muhler-When Frederik and Joachim were of finished with school did Denmark have obligatory military service for all men?
Yes and no.
Yes, in the sense that all able bodied Danish men are eligible to be called up for service and as such you appear before a draft board usually when you are eighteen.
No, in the sense that there isn't use for more than a few of the young men who turn eighteen each year.
At the draft board or session, you are examined and you pull a number. If your number is low you
may be called up for conscription. (Some 5.000 are called up each year).
The vast majority (98-99%) are volunteer conscripts though and they can usually select where they want to serve, depending on skills and the waiting list. There is for example a two year waiting list to serve in the Mounted Squadron of the Guards Hussars.
If you are a conscientious objector you can end up in the Civil Defense or do community service. That is typically longer than service in the military.
While men
must serve if called up, women has the
right to serve, so many women sign up for volunteer conscription.
That was not the case when I and Frederik and Joachim were young and we served for a longer period. (That depended on the unit). In our time a considerable part of the eighteen year olds were called up and not nearly as many were volunteers.
Both Frederik and Joachim went to NCO school so that meant eighteen months of conscription.
From there they went on to the (army) officers school.
In comparison I completed my period as a conscript. Signed up later for the Army Home Guard and then became a regular a few years later for service as a UN peacekeeper.