Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015
The Right Stuff. Selection practices in The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite military unit in the Arctic 1950–2015This article investigates the development of the selection practice for the Danish Army’s Sirius unit. The dog sled patrol protects the sovereignty of the realm and maintains surveillanc...
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ftsbaarhusojs:oai:ojs.tidsskrift.dk:article/115504 2023-05-15T15:04:55+02:00 Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015 Jacobsen, Alice Juel Ydesen, Christian 2019-08-20 application/pdf https://tidsskrift.dk/historisktidsskrift/article/view/115504 dan dan Den Danske Historiske Forening https://tidsskrift.dk/historisktidsskrift/article/view/115504/163810 https://tidsskrift.dk/historisktidsskrift/article/view/115504 Copyright (c) 2019 Historisk Tidsskrift Historisk Tidsskrift; Historisk Tidsskrift Bind 118 Hæfte 2 (2018); 118:2, 401-426. 2597-0666 0106-4991 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2019 ftsbaarhusojs 2022-03-02T23:50:30Z The Right Stuff. Selection practices in The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite military unit in the Arctic 1950–2015This article investigates the development of the selection practice for the Danish Army’s Sirius unit. The dog sled patrol protects the sovereignty of the realm and maintains surveillance in Northeast Greenland by patrolling the uninhabited national park. The investigation is primarily based on interviews with former, retired and current managers of the unit, as well as psychologists involved in the selection practice. Four empirically and contextually substantiated chronological intersections of the selection-period of practice are compared: The first intersection covers the establishment of the patrol in the beginning of the 1950s. The second intersection covers the span of years from the 1960s to 1990, during which a basic selection practice was developed and institutionalized. The third intersection covers a ten-year span from 1990 to the millennium. Several noteworthy changes in the selection took place in this period. The forth intersection describes the current selection practice and puts the selection process in perspective. The investigation documents a significant evolution in selection practices over time. What began as an intuitive selection of the first patrol has become a comprehensive and systematic approach, but the basic concern remains the same. Duty in the Arctic is no picnic. A successful recruit must have ‘the right stuff’. From a testing perspective in sociological historical optics, it appears that societal and cultural trends have influenced the selection indicators and goals, and more elements have gradually been added to the testing procedure. A discretionary assessment made on the basis of Sirius participants’ experiences appears always to have been part of the selection. Psychological testing, a significant breakthrough, was added to the selection process in the late 1960s and it has played a prominent role ever since. During the 1990s, physical testing became a third decisive parameter of the selection process. This process is currently terminated with a test that assesses both psychic robustness and physical endurance. On the basis of the testing literature it may be added that measurement indicators and the testing itself have a formative influence on the recruits. Seen in this light, the article concludes that if the men are indeed made of the right stuff, to a certain extent this is so because they are constructed as an elite by the comprehensive selection procedure. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arktis* Greenland Aarhus University: OJS at The State and University Library Arctic Greenland Sirius ENVELOPE(163.250,163.250,-84.133,-84.133) |
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Open Polar |
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Aarhus University: OJS at The State and University Library |
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ftsbaarhusojs |
language |
Danish |
description |
The Right Stuff. Selection practices in The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite military unit in the Arctic 1950–2015This article investigates the development of the selection practice for the Danish Army’s Sirius unit. The dog sled patrol protects the sovereignty of the realm and maintains surveillance in Northeast Greenland by patrolling the uninhabited national park. The investigation is primarily based on interviews with former, retired and current managers of the unit, as well as psychologists involved in the selection practice. Four empirically and contextually substantiated chronological intersections of the selection-period of practice are compared: The first intersection covers the establishment of the patrol in the beginning of the 1950s. The second intersection covers the span of years from the 1960s to 1990, during which a basic selection practice was developed and institutionalized. The third intersection covers a ten-year span from 1990 to the millennium. Several noteworthy changes in the selection took place in this period. The forth intersection describes the current selection practice and puts the selection process in perspective. The investigation documents a significant evolution in selection practices over time. What began as an intuitive selection of the first patrol has become a comprehensive and systematic approach, but the basic concern remains the same. Duty in the Arctic is no picnic. A successful recruit must have ‘the right stuff’. From a testing perspective in sociological historical optics, it appears that societal and cultural trends have influenced the selection indicators and goals, and more elements have gradually been added to the testing procedure. A discretionary assessment made on the basis of Sirius participants’ experiences appears always to have been part of the selection. Psychological testing, a significant breakthrough, was added to the selection process in the late 1960s and it has played a prominent role ever since. During the 1990s, physical testing became a third decisive parameter of the selection process. This process is currently terminated with a test that assesses both psychic robustness and physical endurance. On the basis of the testing literature it may be added that measurement indicators and the testing itself have a formative influence on the recruits. Seen in this light, the article concludes that if the men are indeed made of the right stuff, to a certain extent this is so because they are constructed as an elite by the comprehensive selection procedure. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jacobsen, Alice Juel Ydesen, Christian |
spellingShingle |
Jacobsen, Alice Juel Ydesen, Christian Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015 |
author_facet |
Jacobsen, Alice Juel Ydesen, Christian |
author_sort |
Jacobsen, Alice Juel |
title |
Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015 |
title_short |
Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015 |
title_full |
Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015 |
title_fullStr |
Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mænd af det rette stof. Selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. Slædepatruljen Sirius 1950-2015 |
title_sort |
mænd af det rette stof. selektionspraksis i den arktiske militære eliteenhed. slædepatruljen sirius 1950-2015 |
publisher |
Den Danske Historiske Forening |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://tidsskrift.dk/historisktidsskrift/article/view/115504 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.250,163.250,-84.133,-84.133) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Sirius |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Sirius |
genre |
Arctic Arktis* Greenland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arktis* Greenland |
op_source |
Historisk Tidsskrift; Historisk Tidsskrift Bind 118 Hæfte 2 (2018); 118:2, 401-426. 2597-0666 0106-4991 |
op_relation |
https://tidsskrift.dk/historisktidsskrift/article/view/115504/163810 https://tidsskrift.dk/historisktidsskrift/article/view/115504 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2019 Historisk Tidsskrift |
_version_ |
1766336664138940416 |