The Danish Home Guard (Danish: Hjemmeværnet) HJV is the fourth service of the Danish military, concerned exclusively with the defence of Danish territory. Service is voluntary and unpaid, except that the most basic expenses are covered. Albeit workshop and depot staff plus clerks and senior officers are all paid. As a result of women's lib, the unarmed Women's Army Corps (Lottekorpset) was merged in 1989 with the then all-male Home Guard to the present, armed unisex Home Guard. The armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark, known as The Danish Defence (Danish: Det Danske Forsvar) is charged with the defense of the Kingdom of Denmark. ... Feminism is a body of social theory and political movement primarily based on and motivated by the experiences of women. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Its top authority is the Home Guard Command HJK, which, unlike Army Operational Command HOK, Navy Operational Command SOK and Tactical Air Command FTK, is managed directly by the Danish Ministry of Defence FMN. Only in times of tension and war will the Danish Defence Command FKO assume command over the Home Guard. Home Guard Command (Danish: Hjemmeværnskommandoen), short HJK, is the Danish Home Guards top authority and is directly under the Ministry of Defence. ... Army Operational Command (Danish: Hærens Operative Kommando), short HOK, is the Royal Danish Army top authority. ... The Ministry of Defence of Denmark (Danish: Forsvarsministeriet) is a ministry in the Danish government. ... Defence Command (Danish: Forsvarskommandoen), short FKO, is the Danish combined arms military command and the Danish military top authority. ...

Organization

As of 2004, it consists of 58,640 active members, of which 9,152 are women. It is divided into four branches: 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• The Army Home Guard (Hærhjemmeværnet) HHV is numerically the largest part of the Home Guard, and works closely with the regular army.
  • Denmark is divided into five Army Home Guard Regions HJVR, led by paid colonels, and subdivided into 18 Army Home Guard Districts HJVD, led by paid majors, plus Bornholm Home Guard.
  • Every municipality has at least one "army home guard company" - HJVK, led by an unpaid captain.
  • The Police Home Guard (Politihjemmeværnet) PO-HJV consist of 47 Police Home Guard compagnies, led by professional police persons. The ordinary members have slightly more authorization than other citizens. Used for traffic control at festivals, searches for victims and guarding community installations. They are never used where there are risks of direct confrontation with civilians (riot control or planned arrests). The companies are part of the Army Home Guard.
• The Air Force Home Guard (Flyverhjemmeværnet) FHV, deals with securing airports and reporting enemy air activity.
  • Denmark is divided into Western and Eastern Air Force Home Guard Districts, led by paid Squadron Leaders, plus a department on Bornholm.
  • Municipalities with airfields or in the vicinity of airports have "air force home guard squadrons" - HVE (100-150 infantrymen), led by unpaid Flight Lieutenants.
  • As a trial, Flyverhjemmeværnet is leasing four civilian general aviation aircraft, flown by members with Private Pilot's License.
• The Naval Home Guard (Marinehjemmeværnet) MHV patrols the Danish territorial waters, and aids in Search and Rescue missions.
  • Denmark is divided into Western and Eastern Naval Home Guard Districts, led by paid Lieutenant Commanders.
  • 39 seaward municipalities have "naval home guard flotillas" - HVF (100-150 infantrymen or a small vessel), led by unpaid kaptajnløjtnanter (naval lieutenants).
• The Infrastructure Home Guard (Virksomhedshjemmeværnet) VHV ensures that civilian companies and authorities can operate even in times of emergency.
  • Employees at power plants, water works and purification plants can participate in the four Energihjemmeværnet HJVK VE-companies.
  • Employees at railway companies can participate in the six Jernbanehjemmeværnet HJVK VJ-companies. Predecessor founded in 1913.
  • Employees in postal services can participate in the eight Posthjemmeværnet HJVK VP-companies.
  • Employees at telecommunications companies can participate in the eight Telehjemmeværnet HJVK VT-companies. Predecessor founded in 1914.
  • They shall keep their places of work intact and prevent sabotage with use of lethal force.

Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... Major is a military rank the use of which varies according to country. ... Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. ... A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... A Captain in armies, air forces and marine forces, is a rank an army or air force rank with a NATO rank code of OF-2. ... French mobile gendarmes doing riot control. ... A Squadron Leaders sleeve/shoulder insignia Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in some air forces. ... Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. ... A Flight Lieutenants sleeve/shoulder insignia Flight Lieutenant (abbreviated as Flt Lt and pronounced as flight lef-tenant, see Lieutenant) is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. ... General aviation (abbr. ... A Private Pilot Licence (or, in the United States, a certificate) permits the holder to operate an aircraft under visual flight rules. ... Map of Sealand and the United Kingdom, with territorial water claims of 3nm and 12nm shown. ... Search and Rescue (acronym SAR) is an operation mounted by emergency services, often well-trained volunteers, to find someone believed to be in distress, lost, sick or injured either in a remote or difficult to access area, such as mountains, desert or forest (Wilderness search and rescue), or at sea... In the Royal Navy, United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, a lieutenant commander (lieutenant-commander or Lt Cdr in the RN) is a commissioned officer superior to a lieutenant and inferior to a commander. ... Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service or police officer rank. ... In times of armed conflict a civilian is any person who is not a combatant. ... A power station (also power plant) is a facility for the generation of electric power. ... A water supply system provides water to the locations that need it. ... Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater, both runoff and domestic. ... The term company may refer to a separate legal entity, as in English law, or may simply refer to a business, as is the common use in the United States. ... It has been suggested that first class mail be merged into this article or section. ... Telecommunication involves the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. ...

History

Created after World War II, the Danish Home Guard was inspired by the Danish Resistance Movement during the war. It was always implied (though never explicitly stated) that the primary objective was defence and guerrilla activity against a Soviet invasion. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Soviet republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ...

When founded on June 11, 1945 in the city of Odense, the 250 representatives of resistance movements and those of the government, both had demands to the new Home Guard. The resistance movements were not interested in a people's army run by the goverment and the government was not interested in a people's army which was independent and run solely by a military figure without parliament representation. Because of these bi-lateral demands, a simple solution to the problem was made. The Home Guard would have two chief executies: A Major General and a representative chosen by parliament. June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Odense is the third largest city in Denmark with 145,554 inhabitants (Odense city January 1, 2004) and the capital of the island of Funen. ...

Natuarlly, the organisation would be funded by parliament, but organised directly under the Ministry of Defence, so that both sides had an overview of what the Home Guard was doing.

For some very simple reasons, the Danish Home Guard would ultimately owe its loyalty to the will of the people, and not the government. The reason for this was, that if a situation like that of World War II was ever to occour again, whether in peace or wartime, the Home Guard would be a guarantee brought by the people, for the people, that the organisation do all in its power to protect the the individual citizen from crimes against humanity. Among these would be persecution due to political and religious stands, direct oppression and genocide. It would above all ensure that democracy, or people's rule, would be enforced. The Home Guard was well respected among the public as many members were former resistance fighters; people who fought for and had an interest in the individual person, their families, friends and loved ones.

With the creation of the Home Guard the founding members swore to protect the Danish people against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, this referring to the then led Danish government who supported the Nazi party of Germany by handing over Danish citizens to the Gestapo. Despite this, members who had a seat in the government during the occupation, claim in their defence that such actions were performed to protect the rest of the people from further war crimes.

The Home Guard would be a military wing aiding the defence of Denmark from foreign aggressors, and also a constant reminder for politicians who would be tempted by their political powers and influence, that they cannot do whatever they please.

With the fall of the Soviet Union, the Home Guard, with its costly training and equipment, was by many Danes perceived as a useless expense, and an organisation obsolete, refering to people's attention that for the past four decades had been drawn outside of Denmark to an enemy that constantly swayed at the back of everyone's mind. Very little attention had therefore been accredited the Home Guard as an organisation providing a stabilizing factor between peoples-will and government power.

In response to the people's view on the Home Guard, the Danish government entrusted the organisation with additional responsibilities in 2004. Not only should the members be trained for defence of Danish territorry in wartimes, but also be able to take on tasks to help civilians during disasters of most kinds, and thereby rebalancing the expenses many had thought of as unnecessary. All this against the values of the Home Guard.

In recent years, changes within the Danish political system, which owes some of its structure to Montesquieu's seperation of powers, has brought new times for the Home Guard. On it's english webpage, the organisation states that: "The overall mission for the Home Guard is to reinforce and to support the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force in fulfilling their missions". Montesquieu can refer to: Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu Several communes of France: Montesquieu, in the Hérault département Montesquieu, in the Lot-et-Garonne département Montesquieu, in the Tarn-et-Garonne département This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages...

With the Home Guard being incl. in the government's Defence Act along with the Home Guard's own public commercials drawing emphazis on emergency relief, as opposed to being an armed counter-weight ensuring that any Danish government, now or in the future, stays in place, a debate can be initiated of whether or not this organisation now voluntarily owes it's loyalty to the government rather than the people.

See also

• Hjemmeværnets Patruljer

Hjemmeværnets Patruljer Introduction, History, Todays patrols of the Danish Home Guard Introduction Since the mid 1950ies, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP) and Long Range Surveillance Units (LRSU) of western militaries have become the intermediate between elite commando units and ordinary infantry. ...

External links

• Danish Home Guard official website, in English
• Danish Home Guard official website, in Danish

	Military of Denmark
Royal Danish Army   Royal Danish Navy   Royal Danish Air Force   Danish Home Guard