Latest news with #womeninmilitary
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the double life of a female Israeli fighter pilot who joined top-secret mission to bomb Iran's nuclear programme
In her other life she works in marketing, has a husband and a loving family. Nothing out of the ordinary. But, as she left home one early morning in mid-June, no one in this young Israeli woman's family knew where she was headed - not even her husband. 'Major M' - her real name is classified - was about to make history in an F-16 Israeli Air Force jet. She was taking part in 'Operation Rising Lion', a covert operation years in the planning to obliterate Iran 's nuclear and military sites. In all, the Israeli Air Force struck more than 900 targets across Iran over a 12 day period. Iran responded with more than 500 missiles and thousands of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) killing 29. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, Major M has given a rare insight into her double life in the first interview in a British newspaper with any of the pilots who took part in Operation Rising Lion. 'We have two lives,' Major M says. 'It's very surreal because you're going through something that is so big and so meaningful and so intense and chaotic. And then the next day you have to go back to the office.' Women in Israel serve alongside men in the armed forces with almost all roles open to them. As a Navigator, Major M operates multiple systems for the aircraft while the pilot flies the jet. Discussing her role, she told the Mail: 'It can be intelligence systems, it can be weapons systems. The missions are so complicated these days with so much technology that it's a lot for one person to take on. So when you have a team of two, you can take on much more complicated missions and just analyse data in a very accurate and correct way.' For security reasons, Major M was unable to go into details of her mission over Iran but she did reveal some of the deadly arsenal at her disposal. She said: 'You have a lot of different kinds of weapons. You have GPS-oriented ones where you just have to have coordinates, and you have ones that you really have to navigate. You have to show the missile its way all the way. 'Yes there is a red button as one would imagine and there is an entire system of other tools to help you get the weapon to where it needs to but it's basically a joystick and a button.' Recalling the build-up to the Iran operation, she says: 'The threat is so real and so close that it's very easy to tell yourself why you're doing it and why it's important and it takes over everything else. We've been training for it for many years, so it's not something that we had to come up with in the past few weeks. We knew all along how this was going to happen when it did, but specifically for this one, I don't think anyone really knew until a few hours before.' Her parents and husband only knew after the event. She admits her family suspected she was in a covert operation but kept their anxieties to themselves. After her first Rising Lion mission, she flew twice during the 12 days of the operation, targeting Iranian military sites, and after she says that she felt a huge sense of 'relief' and was smiling because everyone had come back safe. 'We did our mission, we didn't make any mistakes and can be proud of ourselves and go back home for our next flight. 'I've never been more proud to be a part of the Israeli Air Force and I'm very grateful to participate in all the operations and to be able to say that I've contributed to keeping my family safe, friends safe and myself because we are citizens as well.' Israel's defence force requires national service from everyone aged 18 years onwards, with some exceptions. Major M said she was attracted to the air force because she 'always liked planes as a child'. The air force is becoming more popular for females, she adds, saying: 'When I joined, I think there were only around 20 women, but it's grown significantly since then. I think it's now over 70.' During this particular operation a female pilot and female navigator piloted a fighter jet for the first time in history which shows the growing trend of gender equality in the IAF. After being accepted at flight school and enduring vigorous training, she has stayed in the air force for 13 years and entered the reserves last year where she is always in training for a war situation. She isn't allowed to give details about the actual mission and which countries they flew over to get to Iran, but her sorties in Lebanon, in which Israel dismantled terror group Hezbollah, have prepared her well. 'It's a big thing, but I think we've all learned in the past, since October 7, that anything can happen. So you're mentally prepared for everything. You're both anxious because it's something new that we haven't done before, so it takes a minute to get used to, but we're trained in being focused and in being concentrated.'
CTV News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Denmark expands military service to include women
20-year-old Katrine, right, speaks with another female servicemember during final exercises at a training area close to Royal Danish Army's barracks in Hovelte, 25 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/James Brooks) COPENHAGEN — Denmark on Tuesday expanded its military service to include women, as the Nordic country seeks to recruit more soldiers and strengthen its defenses amid heightened security concerns across Europe. Under a law passed by Denmark's parliament in June 2023, Denmark will require women turning 18 after July 1, 2025, to register for assessment days for potential military conscription, aligning with measures already in place for men. Until now, women, who last year made up around 24% of all recruits, had been allowed to join the military on a voluntary basis. 'In the world situation we're in right now, it's necessary to have more conscripts, and I think that women should contribute to that equally, as men do,' Katrine, a recruit in the Danish Royal Life Guard, told Reuters without giving her last name. In Denmark, volunteers are signed up first for conscription, while the remaining numbers are drawn up in a lottery system. The armed forces are in the process of making adjustments in barracks and equipment better suited for women. 'There are different things that they need to improve, especially in terms of equipment. Right now, it's made for men, so perhaps the rucksacks are a bit too large and the uniforms are large as well,' said Katrine. Denmark, which together with NATO allies last week agreed to boost defence spending, plans to gradually increase the duration of the conscription period from four months to 11 months in 2026 and raise the number of recruits doing military service from around 5,000 now to 7,500 in 2033. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Tom Little, editing by Franklin Paul
New York Times
01-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Denmark Begins Drafting Women as Russian Threat Looms
Women in Denmark who have turned 18 became eligible for military conscription on Tuesday, as the Nordic country moved to expand its armed forces to prepare for a possible threat from Russia and to meet American expectations of NATO members. The agreement to start including women in the draft was announced in March and passed by the Danish Parliament in June. 'The defense needs all the fighting power we can mobilize,' Michael W. Hyldgaard, Denmark's defense chief, said in a statement in March when the change was announced. 'This requires that we recruit from all over society.' Danish women have long been allowed to volunteer to serve in the military, but until now they were not entered into a lottery system for compulsory service like their male peers. The government uses the lottery only if there are not enough volunteers to fill its needs. Women currently make up about 10 percent of the Danish Army, Navy and Air Force. As it braces for a more precarious future — in which Russia may menace Europe beyond Ukraine's borders — Denmark has been pushing hard to find more soldiers. A nation of six million, it currently has about 16,600 uniformed employees in the military and emergency services. Denmark announced in January that it would aggressively increase its military spending, and it has taken a more hawkish approach to defense since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While Denmark does not share a border with Russia, its leaders are wary of Russia's presence in the Arctic and in the Baltic Sea, where there have been instances of sabotage on infrastructure. 'I don't think Danish politicians are fearing Russian tanks in Copenhagen tomorrow or anything like that, but it's tied to fears that Russia could be a problem,' said Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gary Sánchez's bases clearing double
Denmark expands military draft to women for first time After almost four months of military training, newly conscripted women are completing the final exercises near the Danish Army's barracks north of Copenhagen. (AP video shot by James Brooks) 0:57 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
The Independent
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Denmark's army extends compulsory enlistment to women for the first time
Denmark is set to make military service compulsory for women for the first time, marking a significant shift in the Scandinavian nation's defence policy. The move aims to boost the number of young people in the armed forces, extending a requirement previously only applicable to men. The change means that while both men and women can still volunteer for service, any remaining places will be filled through a gender-neutral draft lottery. Until now, women could only join the Danish armed forces on a voluntary basis. The policy comes as 20-year-old Katrine, a female soldier, recently completed her final military exercises near the Danish army's barracks in Hovelte, 25 kilometres north of Copenhagen. After nearly four months of intensive training, Katrine and her unit, with camouflage paint smeared across their faces, were seen scanning the horizon for threats across dense woodland. Katrine and other female soldiers, who spoke to The Associated Press on June 11 on condition of anonymity due to operational security, had volunteered for service earlier this year. 'In the situation the world is in now, it's needed,' Katrine said. 'I think it's only fair and right that women participate equally with men.' Under new rules passed by Denmark's parliament earlier in June, Danish women who turn 18 after Tuesday will be entered into the lottery system, on equal footing with their male compatriots. The change comes against a backdrop of Russian aggression and growing military investment across NATO countries. Even from the relative safety of Denmark, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine casts its shadow. Lessons from the Ukrainian battlefields have even filtered down into their training. 'That makes it very real,' Katrine said. Denmark's gender-parity reforms were originally outlined in 2024 as part of a major defense agreement. The program was originally expected to be implemented by early 2027, but has been brought forward to summer 2025. Col. Kenneth Strøm, head of the conscription program, told AP the move is based on 'the current security situation.' 'They could take part in NATO collective deterrence,' Strøm added. 'Raising the number of conscripts, that would simply lead to more combat power.' Denmark, a nation of 6 million people, has about 9,000 professional troops. The new arrangement is expected to bring up to 6,500 annual conscripts by 2033, up from 4,700 last year. Under Danish law, all physically fit men over age 18 are called up for military service. But because there are usually enough volunteers, there's a lottery system so not all young men serve. Women, by contrast, could only volunteer previously, making up roughly a quarter of 2024's cohort. 'Some will probably be very disappointed being chosen to go into the military,' Anne Sofie, part of Katrine's cohort of volunteers, said of the new female conscripts. 'Some will probably be surprised and like it a lot more than they think they would.' The duration of service is also being extended from four to 11 months. Conscripts will first spend five months in basic training, followed by six months of operational service, plus additional lessons. The move is part of a broader military buildup by the Nordic nation. In February, Denmark's government announced plans to bolster its military by setting up a $7 billion fund that it said would raise the country's defense spending to more than 3% of gross domestic product this year. Parts of the conscript program are being financed by the so-called Acceleration Fund. 'We see a sharpened security situation in Europe. We have the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We have focus on the Baltic countries, where Denmark is contributing a lot of soldiers. So, I think it's a general effort to strengthen the Danish defense,' said researcher Rikke Haugegaard from the Royal Danish Defense College. But Haugegaard notes there are many challenges, from ill-fitting equipment and a lack of additional barracks, to potential cases of sexual harassment. 'For the next year or two, we will be building a lot of new buildings to accommodate all these people. So, it will be a gradual process,' she added. In 2017, neighboring Sweden instituted a military draft for both men and women after its government spoke of a deteriorating security environment in Europe. Norway introduced its own law applying military conscription to both sexes in 2013.
