Abstract
Since the end of the Cold War the Royal Danish Navy has experienced a period of significant change. Though the size of the fleet has decreased dramatically, it now includes a small number of large, powerful and flexible warships. It also comprises the Danish Task Group, which is a deployable command staff consisting of approx. 20 officers and NCOs. When deployed, the staff can direct maritime operations in a wide variety of tasks. Based at Naval Station Korsør, the staff is also responsible for the planning and implementation of exercises, training of maritime forces and the development of maritime doctrines at task group level. Doctrine was a subject for discussion in Danish military ranks in the late 1990s. An intense debate arose as to whether the Danish Defence should develop and adopt a joint national doctrine. Officers from the Royal Danish Navy spoke against the idea, arguing that the navy was already integrated in NATO doctrine, and that a national doctrine would thus be superfluous. This article gives a brief history of the Danish Task Group and serves as an introduction to the use of and development of doctrines in the Royal Danish Navy.