Inside Greenland’s elite ‘dog sled army’ that hunts polar bears and patrols -55°C landscapes where others dare not go

Equipped with weapons and navigating the frigid expanse of Greenland on dog sleds, these elite special forces are accustomed to combating fierce polar bears.

Donald Trump’s threats to invade this mineral-rich Arctic wilderness could now pit serious dog sled patrols against the US military.

The expert Danish naval unit will give a tough challenge to the opponents. They’ve mastered their environment despite hunger and frostbite in a world where one mistake can be fatal.

For up to five months at a time, they conduct long-range reconnaissance missions through this harsh land where the sun never rises in winter and temperatures can drop to -55°C.

The Royal Danish Navy unit’s battle honours include stopping Nazi encroachment off the coast of Greenland in World War II.

face adversity

Sirius Patrol is now in the international spotlight after Donald Trump mocked Greenland’s defensive capabilities.

on the brink

‘I’m the one who saved NATO,’ says Trump as the alliance plans to defend Greenland.

Cut into pieces

Putin’s mouthpiece offers to help US annex Greenland

Trump holds the belief that capturing an island such as Greenland would be effortless. However, Greenland is a large and challenging environment, and without any prior experience working there, one is likely to encounter significant difficulties.

Former Danish Rear Admiral Torben Orting Jorgensen is the individual being referenced.

He told a group of reporters aboard Air Force One, the presidential plane, “You know what Denmark has done recently to increase security on Greenland? They added another dog sled.

“That’s true. They thought it was a fantastic move.”

Trump was trying to clarify his view that Danish security is inadequate to secure strategic Greenland against Russian or Chinese incursions.

Yet Danish former Rear Admiral Torben Orting Jorgensen called Trump’s comments about serious sled teams an “insult of stupidity”.

Torben, 66, who now runs Denmark’s influential People and Security Defence Policy Network, told The Sun: “The fact that Trump is laughing at additional dog sled patrols only emphasises his ignorance of the conditions in that area.

The unit and we are using modes of transportation that have been adapted to the local conditions for centuries, and we are enhancing these with drones and other features.

“Trump believes it’s straightforward to take over an island like Greenland. But it’s a big, unfriendly place, and if you don’t know how to operate there, you’ll fail.”

The melting Arctic has become a crucible for competing world powers seeking to exploit minerals and fossil fuels as well as establish shipping routes through ice-shrouded seas.

In a sharp response to Trump, the Danes have unveiled a new £4.8 billion military package to defend Greenland, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark, including a new radar station, five patrol ships and four long-range drones.

Yet in the brutal landscape of Greenland’s frozen north – which is impassable to modern military hardware – Sirius Patrol remains the first line of defence.

Taking its name from Sirius the Dog, the brightest star in the night sky, the world’s only dog ​​sled special force operates where others fear to tread.

Every autumn, six sled teams, each consisting of two Royal Danish Navy soldiers, patrol for five months in an area equivalent to ​​Britain and France combined.

White-out solitude is a stern test of men’s resilience.

There is no opportunity to visit family or friends, except for the one visit to civilisation allowed during a 26-month tour of duty.

Instead, a close and respectful bond develops between man and dog, who become a cohesive unit, each dependent on the other for survival.

Huskies have developed a hissing growl that they use to warn of approaching polar bears.

This gives soldiers time to reach for their 10mm Glock pistol or bolt-action M53 rifle.

Eleven to fifteen Greenland huskies pull the sled, traversing sea ice and rugged ice an average of 19 miles per day.

At night, people move into a high-tech tent or a collection of huts built along the patrol route.

Their monotonous diet of canned foods is deprived of fresh fruits or vegetables throughout their time on patrol.

And although they change their socks weekly, they go two months without bathing or changing a full set of clothes.

Her hardy husband sleeps outside, braving the worst of the Arctic weather.

The naval unit’s selection and training processes are among the toughest of any country’s special forces and have been described as “extraordinary”.

Potential recruits undergo vigorous tests for stamina and strength as well as psychological testing to ensure they can withstand months of solitude.

At least eight months of rigorous education await those who succeed, covering subjects such as hunting techniques, tailoring, and veterinary skills.

glorious history

Patrolman Jesper Olsen described how, as part of his final training, he had to simulate a sledding accident by jumping into icy water.

They then tested their survival skills by living for five days with only a small bag of emergency supplies.

While hunting arctic hares and musk oxen to feed himself, he slept in a snow cave he dug with his mess tin.

The unit has a glorious history.

First known as the North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol, it was formed in the summer of 1941 with mainland Europe under Nazi control.

Its mission was to collect meteorological data to aid military planning in Europe.

The Germans also recognised Greenland’s potential and secretly built four weather stations along its rugged coast to aid their U-boat campaign.

Peter Harmanson, author of Fury and Ice: Greenland, the United States and Germany in World War II, said, “The Germans called Greenland the ‘season kitchen’, the place where the season was made, to be served to Europe the next day.”

They serve as a means of transportation and act as your alert system while you are sleeping.

Retired US Coast Guard Captain Bob Desh

Before Sirius, it was almost impossible to find a monitoring station among the icy waste.

U.S. Coast Guard ships struggled to navigate through the pack ice, while spotter aircraft visibility was hampered by snowstorms and the persistent darkness of winter.

So U.S. Coast Guard Commander Edward “Iceberg” Smith teamed up with Greenland Governor Eske Brun to form the Husky Patrol.

A force of ten Danes, four Greenlandic Inuits and one Norwegian was assembled to fight what became known as the “Weather War”.

The presence of the Inuit was significant; US Coast Guard Headquarters wrote: “In that great expanse of snow and ice, where people can hardly be distinguished at a short distance, only natives covering the area on sleds and well acquainted with the regular inhabitants can detect a stranger.”

Then sled teams of the hardy local breed of Greenland Husky were put together.

The dogs, known for their stamina and strength as well as their keen sense of smell to detect dangerous animals and enemy soldiers alike, were accustomed to the unforgiving Arctic environment.

Retired US Coast Guard Captain Bob Desh said, “They’re tail-specific sensor packages.

“They serve as both a means of transportation and an alert system while you sleep.”

The unit was divided into three groups and began patrolling the northeast coast of Greenland.

At night they slept in tents or small huts called “hunting stations”, which were filled with paraffin, coal and dog food.

Bob said, “They were the most disgusting, wretched huts you could possibly think of, but it was a place to sleep.”

You have to be familiar with that harsh environment and that knowledge is not something you can learn in Alaska or in high technology or anything

Former Danish Rear-Admiral Jorgensen

Armed with rifles, soldiers shot musk oxen, polar bears, and arctic foxes as food for themselves and their dogs. The secret unit soon made its mark.

In the autumn of 1941 a patrol spotted a suspicious Norwegian trawler in a remote fjord.

Allied forces detained the German soldiers and kit they found on the ship.

In 1943, patrolmen Marius Jensen, Mikael Kunc, and William Arkay discovered a small cottage on Sabine Island with smoke coming from its chimney.

Seeing two people running from the hut, they decide to set up camp at a nearby hunting hut.

Later alerted by their howling dogs, they encountered two heavily armed German units.

Before beginning the two-day, 100-mile journey back to camp, the sled drivers were forced to flee, abandoning their dogs and equipment.

Later, Nazi soldiers open fire on Danish patrolman Eli Knudsen and his sled dogs. Killed in the melee, he was the unit’s first casualty.

The sled unit was disbanded after the war, but in 1950, as the Cold War cooled and concerns grew over Soviet designs in the Arctic, it was reorganised.

Before becoming the Serious Dog Sled Patrol, its name was changed to the Resolute Dog Sled Patrol.

Sirius’s boots on the ground prevent Russian and Chinese infiltration, a far cry from the high-tech modern warfare of AI-controlled drones and satellites.

If Trump intends to send US troops to seize Greenland, these warriors will be ready to serve.

Former Danish Rear Admiral Jorgensen told The Sun, “You have to be familiar with that harsh environment and that knowledge is not something you can just study in Alaska or high-tech or whatever.

“Sirius has battle-proven skills.”