Many youngsters in Denmark<\/a> see the military draft as a form of paid gap year, said Henrik, a 32-year-old Dane who completed his military service in 2013 (he asked that his surname not be used). In four months, he went from a teenage chicken farmer to a serving member of the Danish military.<\/p>\n Denmark has had mandatory conscription for over 18s since 1849, but so many young people choose to volunteer that forced conscription by lottery is actually relatively rare. So what can the UK learn from the Danish model?<\/p>\n New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n Chicken farmer to teenage soldier <\/p>\n Henrik\u2019s experience of a year in Denmark\u2019s military was a lot like stereotypes of army life<\/a>, he said. The eight-month programme began with 16 weeks of basic military training spent largely in the woods, learning how to march, dig positions, patrol and fire rifles, including with live ammunition.<\/p>\n They slept in bunk beds in 12-man rooms on barracks Monday to Friday, and were allowed to return home on weekends. Days began at 6am, when the recruits put on their uniforms, ate, cleaned the living quarters and were inspected by the sergeant, before moving on to war drills and training in the forest.<\/p>\n Exercises finished between 4pm and 6pm, followed by cleaning and maintaining equipment, a meal and relaxation.<\/p>\n Recruits were paid around 10,000 kroner a month (\u00a31,164). \u201cFar from a full-time job payment if you were an adult,\u201d said Henrik, but as a young person living at home, it was still enough to save a little.<\/p>\n He said it was \u201cdefinitely more interesting\u201d than his previous job, and not necessarily harder. Still, it wasn\u2019t a \u201cluxury experience\u201d, and the mattresses felt like they had been there since the Cold War.<\/p>\n After the initial training period, Henrik undertook a further four months with Denmark\u2019s Royal Guards on full operational duties, guarding military sites and royal palaces. He wore a bearskin hat similar to the Tower of London\u2019s Beefeaters.<\/p>\n UK \u2018needs to step up readiness for war\u2019<\/p>\n Lithuania, Sweden and Latvia<\/a> have brought back mandatory military service in recent years, with Latvia\u2019s president, Edgars Rinkevics, saying that other European nations should \u201cabsolutely\u201d introduce conscription to counter threats coming from Russia.<\/p>\n Denmark, too, has expanded its recruitment; since last year, the Danish draft also applies to women,<\/a> and the length of service has increased from four to 11 months. About 4,700 Danish men and women undertook a short period of military service in 2024 \u2013 about 24 per cent of them being female volunteers.<\/p>\n The new conscription rules are expected to bring the overall number of Danes undertaking military service annually to 6,500 by 2033.<\/p>\n Henrik said the changing geopolitical climate has made the case for conscription stronger, but the reality for draftees has become more difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cI did my stint in a very peaceful Denmark in 2013, when defence spending was something you could cut and enemy scenarios seemed a bit far-fetched,\u201d he said. \u201cTo serve as a conscript in 2026 \u2013 especially in a frontline state like the Baltic nations \u2013 is bound to have a level of seriousness to it than I didn\u2019t face.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s exactly why it\u2019s logical for more countries to make this choice now,\u201d he added. \u201cI just hope that any time politicians put more young people behind a gun, they do even more to make sure they don\u2019t have to fire it.\u201d<\/p>\n The UK has created a military gap year scheme to bolster recruitment.<\/p>\n Due to open for recruitment next month, under-25s will be able to join the Army, RAF or Navy for broad military training with programmes lasting between one and two years<\/a>. This is seen as a step towards a new \u201cwhole of society\u201d approach to defence, and is aimed at engaging Gen Z in particular.<\/p>\n It follows repeated warnings from senior defence figures that the UK is unprepared for war<\/a> and must upskill the population.<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s Strategic Defence Review<\/a>, a blueprint for the future of the Armed Forces, released last year, specifically recommended faster, more flexible options for recruitment, including military gap years and a \u201cwhole of society\u201d approach to defence.<\/p>\n In Denmark, that concept is normalised. Henrik\u2019s father and older brother both voluntarily took up the draft, and two of his six cousins. He found it \u201cextremely natural\u201d to follow.<\/p>\n Henrik is not sure he would be ready for deployment today, but said military service equipped him with life skills.<\/p>\n \u201cDenmark doesn\u2019t have a reserve structure that includes draftees. So for a few years, I might have had the knowledge. But if I\u2019m being honest, I don\u2019t think a lot of generals would put me on the field right now, these 12 years later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n However, the programme \u201cgives you a basic knowledge that will never really leave you\u2026 You learn discipline, you learn how to do your duties. I took that with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Military service \u2018helpful on a CV\u2019<\/p>\n While some in Denmark use the military programme as a \u201cstepping stone\u201d to a professional military career, Henrik never considered becoming a full-time soldier. He had always planned to take a gap year after college and found the draft an attractive option \u2013 a way to both have an income<\/a> and a \u201cmeaningful experience\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTheoretically, speaking, someone could have been forced to do draftee duty. But it is so normal and frankly speaking, popular, to do it, that very few people are actually forced to do their drafting.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Conscripts](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SEI_286596402.jpg\")
Danish conscripts take part in the REX tour, the last exercise they have to go through before they can call themselves Royal Life Guards (Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen\/Ritzau Scanpix\/AFP)<\/p>\n![\"HARROGATE,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SEI_191632727.jpg\")
Junior soldiers parade as they graduate from the UK Army Foundation College in Harrogate, which takes students from 16 (Photo: Ian Forsyth\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SEI_279814618.jpg\")
Danish military forces participate in an exercise with hundreds of other Nato troops in Nuuk, Greenland, in September 2025 (Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SEI_279827585.jpg\")
Danish forces performing military drills with German and French troops in Greenland in 2025 (Photo: Guglielmo Mangiapane\/Reuters)<\/p>\n