Sirius (ski patrol)

The subdivision “Northeast Greenland sledge patrol” was founded in the summer of 1941 to prevent the possible landing of German troops in Greenland ^[5] . There were already several secret weather stations on the east coast of the island, from which they obtained data for predicting the weather in the European theater of operations , as well as for planning U-boat operations. Therefore, Denmark’s actions to destroy these stations were important both for the Battle of the Atlantic and for the air and ground battles in Europe, despite the considerable geographical distance from the main battlefield sites.

The patrol discovered the German meteorological station Holzauge on the northeastern coast of the , which was then destroyed by US bombers from Iceland. For all the time of the Second World War, one patrol fighter was killed in battle, two were captured, but soon fled and returned to service ^[8] .

In 1950, during the Cold War , Denmark decided to deploy a permanent military presence in Greenland; then the patrol was named “Resolut”, three years later it was renamed in honor of the star Sirius , the largest in the constellation Canis Major ^{[9] [5]} .

Kronprinz Frederick participated in the polar expedition "Sirius", dedicated to his 50th anniversary ^[10] .

In 2008, the National Bank of Denmark issued a commemorative coin with a face value of 10 kroons , dedicated to the Sirius patrol ^[11] .

Since October 2012, the patrol submits to the United Arctic Command ^[12] . Earlier this sleigh division was under the jurisdiction of the Greenland Island Command and the Danish fleet . Headquarters are located in Daneborg , refueling stations - in Nord , Danmarkshavn and Mesterswig . In addition, more than 50 warehouses with barracks are located in the patrolled area ^[3] . The southern warehouses are replenished from the sea, and the northern ones - from the air.

Candidates for the Sirius patrol must serve in the army, and then pass psychological tests and semi-annual training ^[3] . Both men and women are admitted to the patrol, but as of 2012, there were no applications from women ^[13] . After training, military personnel spend two years in patrol ^[3] . Dogs have been on patrol for about 5 years ^[5] . The monthly salary of an employee is about 22 thousand DKK after taxes (approximately 140 thousand rubles) ^[5] .

Every year, six pairs of soldiers are sent on sleds with 11-15 sled dogs . Each group carries about 300-350 kg of cargo (depending on the distance to the warehouse). The patrol area includes the northern and northeastern parts of Greenland, from the fjord and the Petermann Glacier ( ) to Cap Biot ( dat.Kap Biot ) to north of the Fleming Fjord ( ). In a straight line the distance between these points is about 2100 km, but the path along the coastline is much longer, about 16,000 km. The group travels about 30 km per day ^[5] .

Patrol is divided into two time periods. The beginning of the autumn period is chosen depending on the time of freeze-up , usually from November to the end of December, sometimes to the beginning of January. The polar night begins in early November, at the same time winter hurricanes begin. At the end of January, the polar night ends and a calmer weather sets in, at the same time the second period begins, continuing until June (the beginning of the ice drift ).

In the summer, there are about 30 expeditions to the national park , for each of which the patrol receives a separate permit ^[3] .

The patrol also performs scientifically valuable observations ^[14] : for example, they have been collecting data on the duration of the ice period in Daneborg since 1951 ^[15] .

Because of the special conditions of work, employees in the patrol use a variety of equipment items that are absent from other Danish military ^{[7] [16]} . For example, a pistol 9 with cartridges of 9 × 19 mm. The Parabellum was replaced with a Glock chambered for 10mm Auto , because the former was ineffective against polar bears ^{[17] [18]} . In the 1980s, "Sirius" still used the 1917 M1917 Enfield rifles , due to the fact that they could shoot at such low temperatures, in contrast to more modern weapons ^[19] .

• Military skiers

• Gray G. Passing Ships . - Amberley Publishing Limited, 2012. - ISBN 9781445611082 .
• Meltofte H. , Christensen TR , Elberling B. , Forchhammer MC , Rasch M. High-Arctic Ecosystem Dynamics . - Elsevier Science, 2008. - (Advances in ecological research). - ISBN 9780080570044 .
• Jim Jal'S Elephants to the Dolphins of the Navy . - ABC-CLIO, 2011. - ISBN 9781598843477 .
• Howarth S.And Shining Sea: A History of the United States Navy, 1775-1998 . - University of Oklahoma Press, 1999. - ISBN 9780806130262 .
• David Boertmann. An Antatated Checklist to the Birds of Greenland . - Museum Tusculanum Press, 1994. - ISBN 9788763512251 .

• ( Dates. ) Slædepatruljen SIRIUS - the official web page of the Sirius patrol
• Palle Norrit. THE SIRIUS SLEDGE PATROL (English) . East Greenland (11 March 2005). The date of circulation is September 8, 2014. Archived March 11, 2005.
• ( Dates. ) Kursus for personel til slædepatruljen SIRIUS (Army Combat Training School, Course for slædepatruljen SIRIUS personnel) (not available link)
• Greenland by dog ​​sledge: The Sirius Patrol in numbers (English) . BBC (30 November 2011). The appeal date is September 9, 2014.