Somewhere in Denmark the Patrol Company/AOC is preparing to insert a number of patrols from the seaside into the conflict area. The purpose is to gather information about the parties in the conflict and to localize any threats against the maritime reaction force from NATO. It is however not a live operation but a part of DANEX 06.

“A threat could be mobile surface-to-surface missiles hidden on the coast by irregular units,” says the commanding officer for the Patrol Company, Captain Morten Rask, and continues: “The threats must be localized and monitored, also if they start moving the weapons around. Therefore it is important that the patrols work by stealth, as they are trained for.”

During this exercise the Patrol Company is under the direct command of Danish Task Group and its use is coodinated through the liason officer of the unit aboard THETIS. That way there is fast access to information about the tactical situation on the ground: The Patrol Company represent both eyes and ears on the ground in the conflict area.

Ahead of the insertion the Patrol Company has worked with the order from Danish Task Group and the patrols have reviewed various field skills which are useful for a mission in a potentially dangerous conflict area e.g. small arms firing and advanced first aid. Co-operation with other units and various ways to insert the patrols on the ground, at sea and in the air, e.g. combat swimming have also been trained.

Trained by the Frogmen Corps
A special capacity at the Patrol Company are the combat swimmers. They are capable of getting ashore unseen from a Navy vessel or dropped into the water from a helicopter and thereafter continue the operation on the ground as patrol soldiers. The training as combat swimmer is a demanding course given by the Danish Frogemen Corps for special operations units.

“The Frogmen Corps is responsible for this tactical maritime training and has thereby certified that the trained personnel from the Patrol Company can be used operationally as combat swimmers,” says Captain Morten Rask. The capacity makes the Patrol Company very well suited for operations which take place both on the ground and at sea. It probably will not come as a big surprise if the combat swimmer capacity will be used during exercise DANEX 06.

The Patrol Company/AOC is a special unit established by the Danish Home Guard for use by the Army Operations Command Denmark (AOC) and the national total defence.

Text: Nikolaj Grøn, Press- and Information Officer, the Patrol Company, Army Operational Command.