Jægerkorpset

Jægerkorpset (translated from Danish as Hunter Corps or Huntsmen Corps) is a Danish Special Forces unit, a part of the Royal Danish Army. Its base is Aalborg Air Base. Members of the corps wear a burgundy beret with a hunting horn badge.

"Jægerkorpset" is comprised of 136 (September 2005) highly-trained soldiers with special expertise in Counter-Terrorism, including demolitions, parachuting, and combat swimming. Its mission and structure is generally considered equivalent or similar to that of the U.S. Army Special Forces and the British SAS.

The selection course to becoming a "Jægersoldat" (a member of "Jægerkorpset") is very demanding, both mentally and physically. For a candidate to be accepted into the course, he must complete a shortened "Patruljekursus" ("Patrol Course") of five days and subsequently an additional two weekends of training and exercises designed to prepare the recruit for future trials.A candidate also has to meet the demands for becoming a sergeant, since candidates ranking lower than a sergeant must attend sergeant school. The course focuses primarily on navigation and orienteering skills. If this course is passed with a grade of "very satisfactory" (equal to 4 on a 1-5 scale), the applicant can then proceed to the Patrol Course. The Patrol Course lasts eight weeks; only if it is completed with the grade of "very satisfactory" can the applicant be part of the "Aspirantkursus" ("Aspirant Course"). If this is completed the applicant is considered "one of the family", and placed on a "tryout" period of 1½ years after completing a ten day swimming course at the Danish Frogman Corps, followed by ten days of basic parachute training.

As a rule of thumb, only one or two out of each 100 applicants to the Patrol Course become members of the Corps. Since the corps was founded 1, November 1961 some 300-400 Jægers have been trained.

Members do not spend much time at the Aalborg Airport airbase, as they generally spend 200 to 250 days a year in training or on missions.

External links

* [http://forsvaret.dk/JGK/ Official webpage of Jægerkorpset]
* [http://www.geocities.com/dkhuntercorp/ Webpage about Jægerkorpset]

Articles on Jægerkorpset from Danmarks Radio (danish)

* [http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2005/08/07/142057.htm Time for defence openness]
* [http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2005/08/07/190117.htm Elite soldiers want to break silence]
* [http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2005/09/07/200931.htm Elite forces tell about war contribution]
* [http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2006/01/14/231538.htm Jægerkorpset wants dangerous missions]

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