New figures reveal that more and more military officers are leaving Danish Defence while fewer are taking the officer education.

The situation has reached fever pitch and is a concern to the financial and security arena at Danish Defence, according to the officers association, HOD.

“The defence minister, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, has just warned about very specific and serious threats to Denmark,” Niels Tønning, the head of HOD, told Metroxpress newspaper.

“That underlines the seriousness of a reality in which Danish Defence will be short of a third of its required young officers this year, and the situation won’t improve next year either.”

READ MORE: Danish military is haemorrhaging officers

Bosses of the military
The unexpected departure of officers from Danish Defence has continued from 2014-2016, and far too few new officers are being educated.

The head of the Army’s Officer School, Colonel Nicolas T Veicherts, contends that the lack of officers will mean that Danish Defence won’t be able to handle its duties in the future.

“Officers are the bosses at Danish Defence, just like all other companies have bosses,” Veicherts told Metroxpress.

“Specific to Danish Defence, we solve some very specialised problems, including in war, which requires great experience. So we educate our own officers from the ground up. They are trained in war, tactics and leadership in order to direct soldiers in collaboration with other units.”

A report in 2014 showed that 50 percent more officers than expected had left Danish Defence.