Crown Princess Mary and the Danish Home Guard

[MaggieDenmark]

mary will only take part in the excersize friday 13 september :-) i read that some place in the news

[Roskilde]

Originally Posted by MaggieDenmark

mary will only take part in the excersize friday 13 september :-) i read that some place in the news

You are correct. You can read more here velse fr kongeligt besg:: Kronprinsesse Mary til en » tidende.dk

Mary will participate, but only in Friday's activities

[Muhler]

Interesting. Since when has Mary become a first lieutenant?
Usually you don't go past second lieutenant in the Home Guard, unless you have attended an officers academy and Mary haven't had time for that.

So methinks there's a little mistake there.

Anyway, I notice there are also Americans present in the excersize.
Members of the Army Homeguard, who have been deployed at least once, recently took part in a major National Guard excersize in Colorado IIRC and for the first time. - That was a great success and now members of the National Guard have been to DK to attend a intructors course at the Home Guard School.
A logic thing to do since the Danish Home Guard has changed role within the past fifteen years from a territorial millitia to a role more akin to that of the British territorials and the US national Guard.

I also notice that the staff company that Mary is attached to in Copenhagen will not take part in Safe Sunshine, so we may presume we will see Mary more as a guests than a participant.

[dazzling]

Im sure there is a mistake as I cant image her getting a rank without taking the necessary courses. It would've been nice to see her attend the three day exercise. Any idea why she is attending only one day?

ANP


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[polyesco]

Pictures of Mary during the home guard exercises on the DRF website

Hjemmeværnsøvelse på Bornholm - Kongehuset

[Roskilde]

Originally Posted by polyesco

Pictures of Mary during the home guard exercises on the DRF website

Hjemmeværnsøvelse på Bornholm - Kongehuset

Thank polyesco
Great pictures, especially like this cool one http://kongehuset.dk/materialemappe/...bornholm-5.img


Mary (and Caroline Heering, I think) arrived this noon around 11 am to Nexø, Bornholm. Here they participated in a harbor exercise.

Dukkede op i Nex:: Kronprinsesse Mary p hemmelig sejltur » tidende.dk

[Muhler]

And here are som very high res pics of Mary:

First during her shooting drill. Where she practice skills with her rifle.
It is mandatory for active members of the Home Guard to attend such live fire drills regularly: http://www2.hjv.dk/nyheder/Documents/Skydeoevelse2.jpg

Mary rapelling down a cliff. My guess is that this is why she went to the Army Special Forces some time back, along with Caroline Heering. Because Mary look a bit too confident to be a beginner at this: http://www2.hjv.dk/nyheder/Documents/Rappelling.jpg
And I have rarely seen a uniform that new. Wow!

And here Mary and Caroline are training harbour security: http://www2.hjv.dk/nyheder/Documents/Gummib%C3%A5d.jpg

I see both Mary and Caroline Heering have been promoted to lieutenants, which is a notch higher than second lieutenants, but lower than first lieutenants (who are always regulars).

Here is an article from the Home Guard: http://www2.hjv.dk/nyheder/Pages/HKH...5Bornholm.aspx

The acting chief of Defence Region Zealand, lieutenant colonel Tonni Schumann says: "The Crown Princess manged all excersizes in fine style and we are very happy and proud that the Crown Princess with her participation show her acknowledgement of the many volunteers in the Home Guard.
With her commitment the Crown Princess contribute to raise awareness about the significant role the Home Guard has in the total defence".

ADDED.

A seven pic gallery from BT of Mary and Caroline on harbour security, presumably with the Navy Home Guard.
http://www.bt.dk/royale/se-billedern...evelse#slide-7
I see PET is following behind, looking distinctly civillian.

[MaggieDenmark]

thank you for the very nice photos :-)

mary rocks that uniform :-) and she looks very happy to join the exercise.
my favorite is also the photo of mary rapelling down the cliff, it is a really great shot and she looks very confident
http://kongehuset.dk/materialemappe/...bornholm-5.img

articles
Ekstra Bladet - Mary rapellede 25 meter

Så sej er Danmarks kronprinsesse

[Tarlita]

Wow I had no idea that the Cr Prss went to Special Forces!! You think she did some training with them? Or just to watch them in action?

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by Tarlita

Wow I had no idea that the Cr Prss went to Special Forces!! You think she did some training with them? Or just to watch them in action?

Mary would have watched them in action before and probably later as well.

My guess is that she and Caroline Heering went there for a purpose.
My initial thought was that she was qualifying for her jumpwings, because that's handled by the army special forces. But she is not wearing any jumpwings and that would have required more visits and had she qualified it would have been all over the news by now.
So it may very well be possible that they went through a crash course in more advanced drill like rapelling - which isn't a part of the usual drill of a normal homeguardsman, simply because we don't have that many sheer cliff faces and mountains here in DK...

If you look at the picture of Mary rapelling (the HQ pic) there are two things that struck me.
A) Mary's uniform and boots looked like they come straight from the depot. So either she got kitted up on arrival to Bornholm, or if it's her own uniform, she has seen very little practical service in the Home Guard.

B) Mary has been doing rapelling before and enough times to ensure that she is confident, because there is not the least hint of apprehension or concentration in her eyes typical of someone who is a beginner at this.
That's why I think she has been rapelling down towering silos with the army special forces until she was blue in the face. It would be typical of Mary not just to accomplish a task but to excel.

[Tarlita]

Thank you for that Muhler. The Cr Prss certainly knows how to rise to a challenge.

[ladongas]

(...) cute pictures of Mary training with a military unit. Who knew camo was so becoming?

[Muhler]

A number of articles about Mary's service in the Home Guard.

BB in 2008, Mary joining up: https://app.box.com/s/s3i4e7bmdjj9l4cawi45

The Home Guard Magazine 2009, Mary being promoted to lieutenant: https://app.box.com/s/udjkf0r6mh4cbcvfs44q

The Civil Defence, Mary's basic firefighter training: https://app.box.com/s/q0d0cvgwiuz7bc1bdw41

BB in 2008, Mary finishing the basic training: https://app.box.com/s/fi5jnl1t55ch95hiehsq

[polyesco]

(...)

Also today Mary participates in the opening of the Home Guard's painting exhibition
http://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hph...75618711_n.jpg

pictures from the Home guard exhibit
http://ppe-agency.com/500px/Mar2015/PPE15031043.JPG
http://ppe-agency.com/500px/Mar2015/PPE15031046.JPG
http://ppe-agency.com/500px/Mar2015/PPE15031044.JPG
http://ppe-agency.com/500px/Mar2015/PPE15031045.JPG
http://ppe-agency.com/500px/Mar2015/PPE15031049.JPG

[Muhler]

Mary attended an art exhibition about the Home Guard today. The purpose being depicting and in that way putting focus on the tasks of the Home Guard: H.K.H. Kronprinsessen åbnede kunstudstilling

The fourteen painting for this exhibition was painted by Mathilde Fenger.

(DK members: Has she got any connection with Søs Fenger by any chance?)

[Roskilde]

Thanks Muhler, don't think Søs Fenger and Mathilde Fenger have any connection.

[Roskilde]

Some lovely pictures from yesterday:
(As you maybe can feel the spring has arrived here in Denmark )

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...98e11f0e2a1c10
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...8be12ae84a25ab
https://scontent-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...b6&oe=557FC251
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...2c3fba3debd2dc
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...db696aa8e5ba05
https://scontent-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hp...95&oe=5578DE36

Gallery from Royalista:
Mary rocks the blues as she looks at army art | Royalista

A great picture from Kongehuset.dk:
http://kongehuset.dk/materialemappe/...udstilling.img

Gallery from Kongehuset.dk
Fernisering af Hjemmeværnets maleriudstilling - Kongehuset

[Muhler]

Thanks, Roskilde

It's a pity that the Home Guard no longer issue dress uniforms for their members.
Seeing Mary in the stylish Army Home Guard dress uniform would rival any dress. - And as usual I have to admit that the Navy Home Guard dress uniform for women was downright elegant!
But there is money to be saved by using the practical but not very stylish field/service uniform as a dress uniform as well, so...
A pity, because the first time back home on leave wearing the dress uniform, you can literally see your parents grow a couple of inches.

BTW, the officer seen accompanying Mary is the commander of the Home Guard. That is always a regular officer with the rank of major general.

Here are the actual paintings Mary looked at: http://www.hjv.dk/kunst/Sider/default.aspx
I don't know about art, but I know what I like.
And since it's better to be quiet than to say something negative I shall remain silent.

[polyesco]

what wold the Army Home Guard dress uniform look like?

[Muhler]

Like these regulars, except that Mary would instead wear the medium-green beret of the Army Home Guard.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zJuTUTWZUf...BKROGH%2BR.jpg

And they are wearing the full dress uniform with medals and a sabre. On the dress uniform you don't wear sidearms and you wear your decorations as ribbons instead.

The navy dress uniform seen here is more stylish I'm sure you'll agree: http://forsvaret.dk/MST/PublishingIm...d2515b8524.jpg