Danish Huntsman Corps | |
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Jægerkorpset | |
Unit insignia of Jægerkorpset
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Active | 1 November 1961 – present |
Country | Denmark |
Branch | Royal Danish Army |
Type | Special Operations Force |
Role |
Primary tasks: Other roles: |
Size | ≈200 Commandos |
Part of | Danish Special Operations Command |
Base | Aalborg Air Base |
Nickname(s) | The Elite, Jæger |
Motto(s) | Plus Esse Quam Simultatur (Rather to be, than to seem) |
Engagements |
The Cold War |
Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation |
Website | Official Facebook |
Commanders | |
Chief of SOKOM | Major general Jørgen Høll |
Chief of the Hunter Corps | Lieutenant colonel Kåre Jakobsen |
Primary tasks:
Other roles:
The Cold War
United Nations Protection Force
NATO intervention in Bosnia
The Danish Huntsman Corps (Danish: Jægerkorpset) is an elite, special operations force of the Royal Danish Army based at Aalborg Air Base.
The first incarnation of the corps was formed in 1785 as Jægercorpset i Sielland (The Hunter Corps of Zealand) and existed in various forms until it was remade in its current form in 1962 where Major P.B.Larsen and First lieutenant Jørgen Lyng were the first two to complete the training. Their hunting origin is recalled in the hunting horn on their insignia. In the year 1995, the Corps was deployed for the first time. A six-man team was sent to Sarajevo, Bosnia as a counter-sniper reconnaissance team.
Throughout the Cold War, the Jaegers' primary tasking was that of a long-range reconnaissance unit, with wide renown for their skills in parachute operations. However, with the advent of the post-9/11 Global War on Terror, the Jaegers were modernized to better meet the developing threat of global terrorism. As such, the Jaegers increased their proficiency in counter-terrorism skills, while still maintaining their excellence at reconnaissance operations.
In 2002, the Jaegers were deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Danish contribution to Task Force K-Bar, along with the Frogman Corps. During these operations, the Jaegers took part in de-mining operations, reconnaissance in support of conventional forces, the capturing of high-value targets, and direct-action raids on Taliban and al-Qaeda positions. As part of Task Force K-Bar, the Jaegers were awarded "The Presidential Unit citation" on December 7, 2004 for its effort as part of the joint-forces special forces group in Afghanistan.