NY National Guard signs joint Greenland training agreement with Danish military

Scotia-based 109th Airlift Wing flies regularly to the Danish held island

Latham, NY (12/10/2023) — The New York National Guard and Danish military command responsible for patrolling Greenland plan to start conducting joint training, key leader discussions, and exchange observers in 2024 and 2025.

A Statement of Intent outlining the partnership arrangement was signed during a Nov. 7 meeting between Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, and Maj. Gen. Soren Andersen, commander of the Danish Joint Arctic Command. At New York National Guard headquarters in Latham.

The New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing, based at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, flies missions in Greenland each summer.

The wing, which flies the LC-130 "Skibird" version of the Hercules transport, flies missions to resupply research facilities on the Greenland ice cap. The aircraft is the largest in the world that is equipped with skis to land and take off from snow fields.

The wing also conducts barren land survival training in Greenland to prepare Airmen for operating in the Arctic and Antarctic.

The immediate goal for the partnership is to conduct a combined training exercise in 2025 focused on disaster response.

Greenland, the largest island in the world, is a self-governing Danish territory, and the Joint Arctic Command-Denmark, headquartered in Nuuk, Greenland, commands Danish forces operating there.

It makes good sense for the New York National Guard to work with the Joint Arctic Command, Shields said."The opportunity to expand our training and operational relationships with Denmark and Greenland, specifically as they relate to Arctic operations, is a significant step," Shields said.

The Statement of Intent, signed by Shields and Andersen sets out a framework for cooperation.

"The Statement of Intent allows the New York National Guard to develop training and operational relationships which advances mutual trust and interoperability with the Danish Joint Arctic Command," Shields said."We really appreciate the opportunity to come here, learn some more, and start this effort," Andersen said."Denmark has a new ten-year defense agreement for operations in the arctic," he added.

"Together, with both the U.S. and Canada, there's a lot going on," he said. "We see you as a great partner for us."

Before meeting with Shields and Maj. Gen. Denise Donnell, the commander of the New York Air National Guard, Andersen and Brig. Gen. Poul Primdahl, the Joint Arctic Command Vice Commander, toured Stratton Air National Guard Base, the home of the 109th Airlift Wing.

Col. Christian Sander, the wing commander, briefed the Danish team on wing operations and walked them through one of the wing's LC-130s.

The goal, according to Sanders, was to provide the Danish delegation with a brief on New York Air Guard capabilities in the Arctic.

The agreement with Denmark is the fourth foreign partnership for the New York National Guard.

The New York National Guard has State Partnership Program relationships with the armed forces of the Republic of South Africa and Brazil.

The New York Guard also has a bilateral relationship with Israel's Home Front Command.

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