Greenlandic nature is a challenge for Danish soldiers

By Defence Command Denmark

At Buksefjorden power plant south of Nuuk, a group of soldiers is climbing a mountain to search the area for roads that a potential enemy could use to attack the power plant. This is happening as part of exercise Northern Light, where 1st Company from XIII Lette Infantribatalion, from Slesvigske Fodregiment, is deployed to train guarding critical Greenlandic infrastructure.

First Lieutenant Muldbjerg leads 1st platoon of the XIII Light Infantry Battalion. Photo: Tue Skals / Defence Command Denmark

Although the soldiers of XIII are known for being deployed and covering great distances on foot, the Greenlandic terrain is particularly demanding. The power plant, Buksefjordsværket is located at the bottom of Buksefjorden between high mountains, and part of the soldiers' task is to patrol the surrounding mountain peaks. This way, they get a better overview of the area, so that a potential enemy has a harder time approaching the power plant undetected. The different conditions and the challenging terrain makes demands on the soldiers' tactical decision making when guarding the power plant.

“Under normal circumstances, guarding is a relatively simple task. But here we have to think before we launch patrols and send people up into the mountains, because the distances are great and physically demanding to cover,” says First Lieutenant Muldbjerg, who is a platoon commander from XIII.

Gathering important lessons

Some of the soldiers come with several deployments under their belt, while others are tasting new terrain for the first time. What they have in common, however, is that they gain experience from Greenland that they would not have gained during an exercise in Denmark. The soldiers have grown with the task and have thrown themselves into the challenges with great professional enthusiasm. This has resulted in greater insight and a better understanding of what it takes to guard critical infrastructure in Greenland.

The distances around Buksefjordsværket are large, and the soldiers must use all their military skills to guard the area. Photo: Rebekka Gimm / Defence Command Denmark

“It is satisfying as a platoon leader to see that we manage to solve this task, even though we have no experience with the terrain. It shows us that what we train at home can be applied when we have to move out and defend other parts of the Kingdom,” says Muldbjerg.

In addition to the soldiers deployed at the plant in Buksefjorden, another platoon of soldiers from Slegvigske Fodregiment is deployed at Polar Oil, which supplies fuel to a number of companies and settlements along the Greenland coast.