From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dancon/Irak
Dancon/Irak
DANCON IRAK withdrawn along with the Danes by August 2007. Addi-
tionally, Denmark temporarily deployed around 35 sol-
diers as guards for the United Nations presence in Bagh-
dad, and as of 2005, had sent ten instructors and seven
guards to serve under the NATO Training Mission in Iraq.
The 601st Iraqi National Guard Battalion was briefly
under Dancon command, as was a detachment of about
130 British troops in February 2004, due to the expansion
of their AOR.
The majority of the Danish troops deployed to Iraq
withdrew at the end of July 2007 and were replaced by
a 55-member contingent, known as HELDAT (under the
command of Lieutenant Colonel Jannik Skov), whose task
was to operate a unit of four helicopters in support of
British and Iraqi forces.[3] This unit was withdrawn by
21 December 2007, and has been replaced by 50 military
personnel charged with protecting Danish diplomats and
Established 21 March 2003 (political)[1] liasing with coalition forces in Baghdad.[4]
Activated 23 April 2003[2]
Composition of Dancon/Irak
Disbanded August 2007[3]
Insignia adopted August 2003
Personnel Peak: 545
AOR Peak: 20,000 km²
Dancon/Irak
Dancon/Irak is short for Danish Contingent/Irak, and was
the designated name for the Danish ground contingent
deployed to Iraq from June 2003 to July 2007.
History
Dancon’s units were subordinate to Multi-National Divi-
sion (South East) ("MND(SE)"), which is responsible for
the southern provinces of Al Basrah, Maysan, Dhi Qar and Denmark Army Col. Werner P. Kahle studies a pair of boots
Al Muthanna in Iraq. MND(SE) is a British-run division that will be worn by an Iraqi Army soldier. Kahle visited Iraqi
containing units from several other European nations. Army Gen. Sabah, head of the Regional Support Unit in
Dancon arrived in Kuwait on 2 June 2003, and reached Kirkush, Aug. 8, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jennifer Fulk
its Area of Responsibility (AOR) in Iraq on 6 June 2003.
After an initial setup phase, Dancon/Irak took official Each contingent of Dancon consisted of the following
charge of its AOR on 12 June 2003 during a ceremonial re- units:
ception in CIMIC-house, Al-Qurna, from the British Joint • A Staff & Logistics Company
NBC Regiment. • A Mechanized Infantry Company
The formation was initially 380 personnel, and 42 • A Light Recon Company
more were added in July/August 2003. By February 2005, • A Military Police Detachment
the contingent consisted of approximately 545 soldiers. • A Medical Platoon
Danish troops were rotated every six months, and each • NSE Unit (National Support Element)
contingent had a slightly different composition of units • STOF MND(SC) (Liaison Personnel)
and men. By March 2007, its size had fallen to about 460. • STOF MND(SE) (Liaison Personnel)
A 53-man Lithuanian unit, designated LITCON, had Also attached in the invasion phase:
been attached to Dancon since June 2003. They were
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dancon/Irak
• Jægerkorps detachment (Special Forces) (briefly tralized in its AOR. Camp Danevang was handed over to
attached again in April 2007[5]) the Iraqis in March 2007.
• Engineer detachment (briefly attached again in late
2004) Camp Einherjer
In January 2007 Dancon relocated to Camp Einherjer, lo-
Camps and Locations cated on the British Basra Air Station, west of Basra. The
camp was built between November 2006 and January
Camp Eden 2007. With the withdrawal of both Dancon and its smaller
Camp Eden was located about 9 km north west of Al-Qur- successor HELDAT from Southern Iraq, the fate of camp
nah, near Glory Canal. The camp was built in June/July Einherher is unclear (presumably, it has been transferred
2003 by the then attached Engineer Company. Covering to Iraqi forces).
around 500.000 m², it was built on top of one of Saddam
Hussein’s military installations, previously destroyed.
The camp was nicknamed "Ørken Fortet" (Desert
Subordination
Fortress) by the locals. Its radio-communications code While Dancon was subordinate to Multi-National Division
name was "Amsterdam". Camp Eden was disassembled in (South-East), the British division that ran MND(SE) often
August–September 2004 when Dancon’s AOR doubled in changed, meaning that control of Dancon switched be-
size due to an expansion further South. Dancon moved to tween various units.
Camp Danevang, located inside Shaiba Logistics Base. This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Cimic-House • June 2003 – ?, British 7th Armoured Brigade / 1st UK
Cimic-House, located in Al-Qurnah, is a former Ba’ath Par- Armoured Division
ty building. It was the site of the Danish Civil-Military Co- • September 2003 – ?, British 19th Mechanised Brigade
operation (CIMIC) from June 2003 to May 2004 when it / 3rd UK Mechanised Division
was handed over to the Iraqis. • February 2004 – ?, British 20th Armoured Brigade /
1st UK Armoured Division
Camp Yggdrasil • ? – May 2006, British 7th Armoured Brigade / 1st UK
Camp Yggdrasil was located on Shaiba Logistics Base, Armoured Division
about 15 km west of Basra. It was built during June/July • May 2006 – ?, British 20th Armoured Brigade / 1st UK
2003. The home of the National Support Element (NSE), Armoured Division
the camp was later incorporated into the newly built
Camp Danevang. Yggdrasil, from which the camp was Commanders
named, is a mythological tree between heaven and hell in
Norse mythology. • Dancon/Irak1 (May 2003 – October 2003) – Colonel
Niels H. Bundsgaard
Camp Danevang • Dancon/Irak2 (October 2003 – 13 February 2004) –
Camp Danevang, located on the Shaiba Logistics Base, was Colonel Henrik Højris Friis
officially handed over by the construction company on • Dancon/Irak3 (13 February 2004 – 4 August 2004) –
18 October 2004. However, it had already been in use Colonel Henrik Flach
since September of that year, following the closure of • Dancon/Irak3 (4 August 2004 – 23 August 2004) –
Camp Eden. Lieutenant Colonel Poul-Erik Andersen
The units responsible for the construction of the • Dancon/Irak4 (23 August 2004 – 18 February 2005) –
camp were the Army Operational Command (Hærens Colonel John Dalby
Operative Kommando) and the Defence Construction Ser- • Dancon/Irak5 (18 February 2005 – 20 August 2005) –
vice (Forsvarets Bygningstjeneste). The foundations of the Colonel Henrik Lyhne
camp were built by Danish Camp Supply A/S and Iraqi • Dancon/Irak6 (20 August 2005 – 16 February 2006) –
Basra Engineering. The construction of the actual camp Colonel Flemming Toft
and all the associated requirements, including the trans- • Dancon/Irak7 (16 February 2006 – 20 August 2006) –
portation of all equipment from Camp Eden, was done by Colonel Henrik Berg
Dancon itself with help from an attached Engineer De- • Dancon/Irak8 (20 August 2006 – 16 February 2007) –
tachment and the Danish International Logistic Center. Colonel Per Mikkelsen
It was decided in June 2004 to reposition Dancon to • Dancon/Irak9 (16 February 2007 - 2 August 2007) -
this location following the doubling of Dancon’s AOR Colonel Kim Bruno Petersen
(now about 20,000 km², nearly extending all the way
down to Kuwait), thus allowing Dancon to be more cen-
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dancon/Irak
Fatalities during Dancon/Irak in August 2004, Huusmann protected ten Danish soldiers’
lives while under assault rifle and RPG fire from insur-
Since 2003, seven Danish soldiers have lost their lives in gents at close quarters, by remaining calm and returning
Iraq. fire. There were no casualties among any of the coalition
• August 16, 2003, Lance-corporal Preben Pedersen, soldiers on either occasion.
from the Jydske Dragonregiment (Jutland Dragoon Each commander of Dancon/Irak has been awarded
Regiment), was killed by friendly fire. the Order of the Dannebrog for his service to the Danish
• October 1, 2005, a Danish army reserve officer, from Army.
the Jydske Dragonregiment, First lieutenant Bjarke Soldiers who served under Dancon/Irak that have
Olsen Kirkmand was killed by a roadside bomb. been killed or wounded in action have also been awarded
• March 23, 2006, a Private from Den Kongelige The Medal for Killed and Wounded in Service.
Livgarde (the Royal Life Guards), Jesper Nielsen, was
killed by an IED.
• June 6, 2006, a Pfc Dennis Ove Hansen, was killed in a
See also
vehicle accident. • Dancon
• September 23, 2006, Lance-corporal from the Royal • Dancon March
Danish Air Force, Kim Wadim, was killed by an IED.
• October 6, 2006, a Private from the Jydske
Dragonregiment, Martin Hjorth was killed in combat
References
following an ambush on a Danish patrol. [1] B 118 (som vedtaget): Forslag til
• May 14, 2007, Private Henrik Nøbbe from the Jydske folketingsbeslutning om dansk militær deltagelse i
Dragonregiment, was killed by small arms fire in an en multinational indsats i Irak
ambush in Al Harta. [2] HOK - Danske soldater skal sikre freden i Irak
[3] ^ Denmark hands over responsibilities to British
military in Iraq
Awards and decorations [4] Denmark to pull air force out of Iraq
Every Danish soldier who participated in Dancon/Irak re- [5] Denmark sends special forces to Iraq
ceived The Defence Medal with an inscription reading OIF
(the abbreviation for Operation Iraqi Freedom).
The Defence Medal for participation in Iraq has also
External links
been awarded posthumously to all the fallen soldiers. • [1] Memorial page for fallen coalition soldiers.
Furthermore, in May 2005, two Danish soldiers re- • [2] In Danish. With pictures of first lieutenant
ceived The Defence Medal for heroic deeds during their tour Kirkmand.
of duty in Iraq. They were both from Den Kongelige Liv- • [3] Press release from the Danish defence, about the
garde. One of the two soldiers, Sergeant Ole Gretlund, award of ``The medal for heroic deeds.´´ In Danish.
was awarded the medal when he saved the lives of • [4] Picture with Sergeant Gretlund and Pfc. Thomas
Lithuanian soldiers in Al-Qurnah. The Lithuanian sol- Huusmann with Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
diers, who were under the command of DANCON/Irak, Sgt. Gretlund and Pfc. Huusmann was also awarded a
were pinned down in a firefight with insurgents. reward from The Anders Lassen-foundation (Named
Gretlund saved the lives of the soldiers by his exemplary after VC-recipient Anders Lassen).
leadership and personal valour. After some hours, the • [5] Article about a memorial service with military
insurgents withdrew their positions and the Lithuanian honors to 1st Lt. Bjarke Kirkmand.
soldiers were evacuated with no Danish or Lithuanian ca- • [6] Video of the military funeral with Lcpl. Preben
sualties. Pedersen.
Another Danish soldier, Pfc. Thomas Huusmann of
the Danish Army Reserve, was awarded the medal be-
cause he saved the lives of both Iraqis and Danes in two
firefights in Iraq. During the first, he saved the lives of an
officer, an interpreter, and a sheikh while under heavy
fire from local tribes in Al-Qurnah. In the second firefight
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dancon/Irak&oldid=437221333"
Categories:
• Military of Denmark
• Multinational force involved in the Iraq War
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dancon/Irak
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