Former Sirius personnel have been recruited to a new highly mobile unit that can supplement the existing sled patrols. The unit uses snowmobiles and high-speed boats and can be deployed by plane or parachuted.
The sled patrol Sirius has been given a new supplementary unit. It is called Arctic Specialists and was created as a result of Partial Agreement 1 on the Arctic and the North Atlantic under the Defence Agreement 2024-2033.
Arctic Specialists or simply ARK SPEC, like the Sled Patrol Sirius, are organised as part of the Sirius Squadron under the Jægerkorps.
Unlike the Sled Patrol Sirius, ARK SPEC will not use sled dogs, but will instead use snowmobiles and fast motorboats, among other things. ARK SPEC and their equipment will also be able to be deployed by plane or parachuted.
This is stated by Captain Andreas, who is the commander of the Sirius Squadron at the Jægerkorps.
“The sled patrols perform a fantastic task, but they are geographically locked to Northeast Greenland, they depend on the fjords being frozen over to get there, and they cannot do it very quickly. The purpose of the Arctic Specialists is to achieve everything that sled patrols cannot. They must be highly mobile and solve time-sensitive tasks. And then they can be deployed anywhere in Greenland,” says Andreas.
Main Focus Is Search And Rescue
The new unit consists of former Sirius personnel who have received additional training. Among other things, they have received climbing training to be able to navigate in high alpine terrain and glacier areas. Climbing is not one of the training courses that patrol leaders at the Sirius Sled Patrol receive.
One advantage of recruiting former Sirius personnel is, among other things, the opportunity to build on the experience they have gained in their two years as patrol leaders. Another advantage is that the new specialists will basically have to solve the same tasks, but at a faster pace.
The main focus is to support the Arctic Command (AKO) with search and rescue, in normally inaccessible terrain. Another primary task is reconnaissance or special reconnaissance; for example, keeping an eye out for anything or anyone in the terrain that should not be there. A third important task is recovery, i.e. salvage.
According to the commander of the Sirius Squadron, ARK SPEC represents a new future for the unit.
“Sled Patrol Sirius can be considered an educational platform. People are only there for two years at a time, so you are only really good at what you do when we are about to send you home. In reality, we should keep you and utilise the fantastic skills you possess. The philosophy behind this is to use the educational platform that Sledge Patrol Sirius is to do something that we don’t already have,” says Andreas.
The first specialists have already been recruited and are on their way to solving their first tasks.
Source: Forsvaret (in Danish)