Joint Arctic Command

On 31 October 2012, the Island Command Faroes and Island Command Greenland were merged under the name Joint Arctic Command, which is a joint operational command with serving personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, Danish Armed Forces as well as civilians. As a result of the Defence Agreement 2010-2014, it was decided to close the two commands and replace them with the joint service Arctic Command. The command acts as the connection point and coordinator of cooperation between the armed forces and local authorities. Both Island Commands Faroes and Greenland were previously also components of the NATO Military Command Structure (NCS), but there is no confirmation that the new Arctic Command is in the NCS as well. It is the 1st Squadron that handles tasks pertaining to Arctic Ocean affairs, such as maritime defence and enforcement of sovereignty in Greenlandic and Faroese territorial waters. The 1st Squadron is administratively based at Naval Base Frederikshavn. It has provided units for international tasks, such as the environmental recovery vessel Gunnar Seidenfaden for the cleanup after the Prestige oil spill and the ocean patrol vessel Thetis for the protection force programme of WFP chartered ships at the Horn of Africa. Vessels operated by 1st Squadron. In 2019, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation broadcast a four-part documentary about the Joint Arctic Command. The language of the documentary is Danish. The documentary follows a team of Sirius and Station Specialist aspirants and their journey towards Greenland and employment in the Joint Arctic. Moreover, the documentary includes footage from SAR operations - including e.g. the effort in Nuugaatsiaq in 2017. == Tasks and responsibilities ==

The Joint Arctic Command is responsible for a wide array of tasks in the Arctic. Some of the tasks are solved in collaboration with the Greenland Self-Government and the Faroese National Government, as well as the Greenland Police and the Faroe Islands Police. • The military defence of Greenland and the Faroe Islands • A central task of the Joint Arctic Command is the military defence of the Unity of the realm in the North Atlantic. This task includes surveillance of territory and, if need be, enforcement or sovereignty. In the northern and eastern part of Greenland which is difficult to manoeuvre, the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, which is a naval unit that belongs under the Joint Arctic Command, conducts long-range reconnaissance patrolling. • Fisheries Inspections • To protect marine resources, the Joint Arctic Command enforces fisheries legislation in the Faroe Islands and in Greenland. The Joint Arctic Command participates in the protection of fish stocks by conducting fisheries inspection and control in Greenland and the Faroe Islands in order to prevent and counter systematic violations of Greenlandic and Faroese legislation. • Search and rescue service (SAR) • The Joint Rescue Coordination Center is a unit under the Joint Arctic Command. The center is responsible for leading the search and rescue operations for which the Arctic Command is responsible in Greenland. Collaboration with Naviair helps to create an overview of air traffic in and around Greenland, and Naviair's duty officer participates in the coordination of the search and rescue aircraft. The Arctic Command Operations Center is staffed 24 hours a day. In the Faroe Islands, a liaison officer is made available to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Tórshavn when the Armed Forces' units participate in the search and rescue service. • The responsibility is divided in the sense that the Greenland Police is responsible for SAR operations on land and for sea rescue in the coastal waters within off the shore. The JACMD is responsible for sea rescue on the high seas as well as for all rescue operations that include aircraft. This focus on oil spill recovery and prevention is of high importance in the area. • Hydrographic surveying • It is the responsibility of the Danish state to ensure mapping of the entire kingdom. The Joint Arctic Command helps with this task in the form of hydrographic surveying with the Navy's inspection vessels. A hydrographic survey collects depth, position and time data, which can be used to create a model of the seabed. The vessels used are the inspection vessel Ejnar Mikkelsen and its sea rescue vessel SAR2. Arctic Command has also provided support to the Danish Center for Marine Research in Northeast Greenland, as well as researchers from the Greenland Institute of Nature in the Ittoqqortoormiit fjord, who investigated whether narwhals are affected by seismic activity in the sea. In the Faroe Islands, the Arctic Command supports, among other things, munitions clearance. == Main sites ==

• Nuuk • Headquarters is staffed by 80 civilian and military employees, located in Royal Greenland's former headquarters. There were originally three different sites proposed for the location: Nuuk, Narsarsuaq, or Marine Station Grønnedal (Kangilinnguit) where Island Command Greenland previously resided. The Joint Arctic Command share their premises with the American Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland as well as a political adviser from the Danish Ministry of Defense. • Moreover, the JACMD are present at Station Nord, Station Kangerlussuaq, Station Mestersvig and Station Daneborg, • Contact element Faroe Islands (FEF) rent space in the same building as used by MRCC Tórshavn / Torshavn Radio and the Faroese Contingencies Agency "Tilbúgvingarstovnur Føroya". The location here means an enhanced preparedness and coordination between the civilian and military authorities and tasks. In total there are four military and one civilian employee of the FEF. == Assigned forces ==

The 1st Squadron of the Royal Danish Navy is primarily focused on national operations in and around the Faroe Islands and Greenland. As of 2023, the 1st Squadron is composed of: • Four s; • Three s; and, • The royal yacht (having a secondary surveillance and sea-rescue role) After 2025 the Thetis-class vessels are to be replaced by the planned MPV80-class vessels. The new vessels will incorporate a modular concept enabling packages of different systems (for minehunting or minelaying for example) to be fitted to individual ships as may be required. To support search and rescue as well as surveillance, Greenland's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) is able to call on C-130J and Challenger 604 aircraft of the Royal Danish Air Force if available. The C-130J is specifically tasked with the re-supply of Danish forces in Greenland. The Challenger 604 is also tasked with assisting in surveillance missions in the Arctic area and since 2021 one aircraft has been permanently stationed in Kangerlussuaq. ==Commanding officer==

== The Joint Arctic Command from a foreign policy perspective ==

In the past decade, there has been an increased awareness of the effects of climate change on the Arctic region. Due to climate change and the melting of land and sea ice, the Arctic region is becoming increasingly accessible. This has brought with it an increased awareness of the opportunity for extraction of natural resources as well as greater commercial and scientific activity in the Arctic. Climate change is leading to increasing economic and research activity and at the same time has a significant security and defence policy impact. As a result, many actors have in recent years increased their focus on the Arctic. The current situation challenges the government's desire to maintain the Arctic as a stable and secure area without conflict. has argued that the maritime activity levels are forcing Arctic coastal states to provide increasing presence and more capabilities. This mirrors the call for continued prioritisation of enhanced maritime security It is largely the expectation of increased activity in the Arctic in the form of transport, tourism, fishing and offshore activities that emphasises the importance of, and need for, maritime security in the form of the Danish navy in the Arctic. The Joint Arctic Command is therefore a significant and necessary tool to have for the Unity of the realm in order to enforce the foreign and domestic policy that the Danish government wishes to. == See also ==