How did InterForce start?

InterForce was established in 1999 as a direct consequence of the Danish Defence’s increasing engagement in international peace support and peacekeeping missions.

It quickly became clear that it would be necessary to draw on the approximately 10,000 Danes who at that time, alongside their civilian jobs, held a readiness contract with the Danish Defence.

There was therefore a need for an organisation under the Danish Defence that could build bridges between the military and the civilian labour market.

The initiative to establish InterForce was taken by the then Chief of Defence, General Christian Hvidt, together with former Minister of Finance Knud Heinesen, who was also appointed as the first chairman of InterForce’s national committee. The committee is composed of senior executives from a wide range of leading private and public companies, institutions, and organisations.

Komitéens første målsætning var at kontakte Kongerigets 200 største virksomheder for at udbrede kendskabet til InterForce. Senere blev landets mellemstore virksomheder kontaktet via mail eller InterForces voksende netværk.

Frem til 2006 var det InterForces hovedfokus at informere om Reserven og tale Reservens sag over for det civile arbejdsmarked. Det vil sige at udbrede en forståelse blandt danske virksomheder for, at medlemmerne af Reserven burde kunne få fri fra deres arbejde til at efteruddanne sig ved Forsvaret eller blive indsat til at løse opgaver for Kongerigets sikkerhed.

In 2006, the volunteers of the Home Guard were included in InterForce’s portfolio. In 2012, the approximately 200 volunteer coastal rescuers were added, and in 2022 the volunteers of the Emergency Management Agency also became part of InterForce.

Collectively, the Reserve together with the volunteers of the Home Guard, the Emergency Management Agency, and the Volunteer Rescue Service are referred to as the Reserve Forces.

Today, it is therefore InterForce’s task to inform about and advocate on behalf of the entire Reserve Forces towards the civilian labour market.

Since its establishment in 1999, InterForce has undergone a regional expansion.

In addition to the national committee, the organisation today consists of six regional committees located in Northern Jutland, Central Jutland, Southern Denmark, Zealand, the Capital Region, and Bornholm.

In August 2020, then Minister of Defence Trine Bramsen and Chief of Defence General Bjørn Bisserup expanded the organisation with InterForce Greenland. InterForce Greenland was set up in the same way as the regional committees, and was established specifically to support the development of a volunteer force in Greenland – as determined in the Defence Agreement 2018–2023 – as well as to strengthen the Defence’s relations with Greenlandic businesses.

Over 3.300 danske virksomheder – private og offentlige – har indtil videre valgt at støtte op om InterForce. Tilsammen repræsenterer de over 1.000.000 medarbejdere.