Danish Frogman Corps

Danish Frogman Corps
Frømandskorpset

A visit, board, search and seizure training on the USS Vella Gulf
Active June 17, 1957 – present
Country  Denmark
Branch Royal Danish Navy
Type Special Forces
Role Counter-Terrorism
Special Operations
Law Enforcement
Search and Rescue
Size 150[1]
Part of Special Operations Command
Garrison/HQ Kongsøre
Decorations
Presidential Unit Citation (United States)
Commanders
Chief of SOKOM Major general Jørgen Høll
Chief of the Frogman Corps Commander Stefan Neubauer Andersen
Notable
commanders		 Robert Christensen (1957–1970)
Finn Volke (1970–1975)
Mogens Christensen
Jens Bach

The Danish Frogman Corps (Danish: Frømandskorpset) is a frogman corps of the Royal Danish Navy.

History

This corps was set up on June 17, 1957 based on the model of the British SBS. Initially it was under the Danish Navy's Diving School at Flådestation Holmen (Naval Station Holmen, Copenhagen), but in 1970 it was made an independent unit, operationally under the submarine squadron.

21st century

Today the Danish Frogman Corps is directly under the Danish Navy's Operational Command. They are a unit of divers.

Role

The Frogman Corps' primary duty is reconnaissance, but it is also tasked with assaulting enemy ships, sabotage of fixed installations, advanced force and maritime anti-terrorism tasks.

It performs special operations work on land also, including anti-terrorism and anti-criminal work. The Corps supports the police with clearing up criminal matters that demand highly specialised diving. Also, local authorities, etc. can benefit from the frogmen's skills, for example when underwater installations must be inspected.

Training

The Danish Frogman Corps trains at the Torpedo Station at Kongsøre and works through a long series of courses, e.g.:

The basic Frogman Course is nine months. Each year 500-600 applicants start the course and less than a dozen complete all nine months. Since its creation in 1957, 311 have completed the training, and become a Frogman.[2]

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark passed selection and completed continuation training to become a badged Frogman, in the course of which he earnt the nickname "Pingo".

Presence in Danish society

The Danish Frogman Corps policy is to remain unknown.. Members of the Frogman corps are classified as top secret (yderst hemmelig) and their identities are hidden to the best of their ability.

The Danish Frogman Corps is very well known for photos and videos that have been shared around social networks, including Reddit, Tumblr and others. One of the more well-known images is a photo taken after a military exercise. In 2015, a DR-produced documentary detailing the life of Frogmen cadets was released.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Havskov, Jens Anton (24 June 2013). "The Danish Version of the Navy SEALs". bt.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Frømandskorpset (1:5)" (Video). DR.dk/TV (in Danish). Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Rasmussen, Sofie Amalie. "DR1 giver et unikt indblik i Frømandskorpset". DR.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 3 November 2015.
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