Reino signed up for military service to get his life back on track. But his time at Vædderen also became a journey back to something he had neglected.

Four deckhands step onto the aft deck of the inspection ship Vædderen. In pairs, they move along the railing towards the Seahawk helicopter, which is about to take off. But before it can do so, the harnesses must first be removed. They help secure the helicopter so that it doesn’t go overboard and end up in the soup – as they say at sea.

ends in the soup

Shortly after, the helicopter is in the air, and the guests back in the helicopter hangar are stepping out of their blue overalls.

Reino, 24, takes off his helmet. He has been on board for six weeks. In land crab language, a ship’s guest is a bit like being the ship’s janitor, he explains.

landkrabbesprog

We meet him later in the menigmess, where the morning, noon and evening meals are served. In other words: where the day’s meals are eaten.

enigmatics

Here he says that Vædderen is not only a workplace for him, but also a place where he began to find his feet with both his Danish and Greenlandic background.

Taste for adventure 

– I always knew I wanted to be in the Navy. My friends, who were already in the Navy, told me many good stories from here. They are the ones who inspired me, says Reino.

The plan was that he would register for Defense Day immediately after his high school days at GUX in Nuuk. 

Last names of participants

In this article, we have chosen not to include the last names of some of the cast members of Vædderen. This is out of concern for their privacy and safety.

In this article, we have chosen not to include the last names of some of the cast members of Vædderen. This is out of concern for their privacy and safety.

KNR knows the full identity of the participants.

KNR knows the full identity of the participants.

But it didn’t work out that way. Because when the day came, and Reino and his comrades – high on life and ready for adventure – wanted to report, they were met by closed doors and darkened rooms in Nuuk, where the Armed Forces Day was supposed to be held.

– It had been cancelled without any reason. It screwed up my plans a bit, to put it bluntly, he says.

Instead, he started as a laborer in a company in Nuuk until he moved to Aarhus, where he began studying. But his restlessness and dream of adventure did not disappear into the textbooks.

From barracks to cabin

At the end of November 2024, Reino therefore started as a conscript at the Naval Station in Frederikshavn. He needed something to happen in his life. School fatigue had set in, his physical fitness had declined and his discipline was lagging. For him, conscription was the answer to those challenges.

– We really marched a lot. It was overwhelming at first. To train more, eat healthier, drink more water and party less, he says with a smile.

The university books were thus replaced with basic seamanship, just as the alcohol was replaced with the water jug and the late parties with early training.   And although the start was challenging, military service ended up being a good experience for Reino, where he found a balance between having fun and working hard at the same time.

Now, a little more than half a year later, the barracks in Frederikshavn in Jutland have been replaced by the inspection ship Vædderen in Greenland.  

Not to belong

Reino grew up in both Greenland and Denmark. He was born in Nuuk, but spent most of his childhood commuting between the two countries, partly due to his parents’ studies and then their divorce.

This meant that he had to adapt to new schools and new languages over and over again – and often felt like he belonged half to both countries, but not entirely to either.

– When I was in Greenland, I was called Danish. And in Denmark I was the Greenlander, he says and continues:

– I was confused about the language. Because I spoke both languages, but wasn’t very good at either of them.

Only in recent years has it all started to fall into place. Aboard the Vædderen he has not only had a daily routine at sea – but also the chance to be reunited with his Greenlandic background.

Rediscovered pride

A special moment stands out in Reino’s memory. One afternoon at Uummannaq, the Vædderen was supposed to break ice close to a settlement, but the crew could not make radio contact with a fisherman lying still in the water in front of the ice. Instead, Reino – as the only Greenlander on board – was sailed off in a rubber dinghy to speak with him face to face.

– I was a little nervous because I hadn’t spoken Greenlandic for a long time. But as soon as I started talking, he opened up. It was as if he immediately relaxed more, he says.

The conversation went well, and the fisherman moved so that Vædderen could start breaking the ice. For Reino, the experience was fulfilling because he could use his native language as a strength in his work.

– That experience meant a lot. Especially because I feel like I’ve neglected my Greenlandic background for a long time. But I’ve found peace with it. I stand by who I am, where I come from, and I can rest in myself, he says.

For Reino, the Greenlandic background is a strength. That is why he also hopes that more Greenlanders will want to take the same path – and use their knowledge of both the people and nature in the Navy.

 

One step at a time

Back in the parish hall, a metallic voice sounds over the loudspeaker system – also called storemund. Reino is called back to the aft deck. The helicopter is on its way back.

storemund

He has two weeks left on Vædderen before he has to return to Denmark. But he has no doubt that he will return.

– I definitely plan to sail up here again. I really like it, he says.

The future, however, is more open. Reino does not yet know which direction the current will take him.

– I have different ideas. Right now, the officer school sounds exciting. But I also have a study waiting. It’s hard to say. I think I’ll take it one step at a time, he says.

Series: Future Defense in the Arctic

A robust defense in Greenland and the Arctic is central to security in the West, both Trump and politicians here and in Denmark have said time and again. A billion-dollar investment in the navy is therefore close to being launched, and the worn-out ships patrolling in Greenland and the Faroe Islands must be replaced.

KNR has visited one of the old ships that will soon be retired.