Soldiers before and during deployment

This is the third report in the project “Danish soldiers after a war-zone deployment”, which examines the consequences of deployment for Danish soldiers who participate in international military missions. The survey uses very detailed data from Danish Defence and Statistics Denmark concerning the period from 1992-2009.
The report describes the soldiers before and during deployment and analyses their socio-economic and demographic characteristics as well as any criminal history. It also describes the soldiers before their first mission and, in some cases, also their upbringing. In addition, the report focuses on the group of soldiers who have repatriated, been wounded or died during deployment.
The survey shows that the soldiers deployed, in many ways, do not differ from similar groups in the population as a whole. For example, there are no indications that persons with a violent background feel particularly attracted to deployment on international missions. First-time deployed soldiers are unmarried and around 27 years-old on average, without children and with relatively short education/training. The proportion of women and the proportion of immigrants and descendants among deployed soldiers have risen in this period.
The report has been commissioned and financed by the Soldaterlegatet.