SIRIUS 1:3 New Man On the Coast [EN SUB]

Matti has been dreaming of joining the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol since he was little. He has made it through selection and flies to Northeast Greenland to start his 2 years of service as patrol leader. Ahead lies training in driving with dog sleds and his first sled journey to the desolate and uninhabited Northeast Greenland. In 1968 the Siriusman "Pelle" disappeared in a heavy snow storm. His old teammates tell about the dramatic days that had a tragic end.

The Sirius Patrol is tasked with patrolling Northeast Greenland and upholding the sovereignty of the Danish Realm in the area. Siriusmen most often serve one deployment lasting 2 years in Northeast Greenland.

The history of the Sirius Patrol can be traced to 1933, where the International Court in the Hague settled the dispute between Denmark and Norway over Northeast Greenland and declared that it was Danish territory, but that Denmark had to uphold its sovereignty in the area to keep it. Two police stations were created in 1934 to police the area, which had a significant presence of Danish and Norwegian commercial hunters. During the Second World War, a military patrol was created from Danish and Norwegian hunters to fight against the German weather stations in Northeast Greenland. The patrol suffered one casualty during the war, when Corporal Eli Knudsen was killed in a German ambush in 1943. For more information about the patrol during the Second World War:    • The Last Sled Journey 5:8 [EN SUB]  
In 1950, the patrol was reestablished as the Resolut Dog Sled Patrol. The name was changed to the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol in 1953, after the brightest star in the Canis Major constellation. The Sirius Patrol suffered another casualty in 1968, when Staff Sergeant Poul "Pelle" Erik Mortensen froze to death in a blizzard while sheltering on the ice. Mortensen was part of Sled Team 6, which has since been disused and replaced by Sled Team 7 - despite the patrol only having 6 sled teams in total.

The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol is considered one of the Denmark's 4 special forces. While the selection and training for the Jaeger- or Frogman Corps is generally considered harder, everyone who completes the training are accepted into the Corps. The Sirius Patrol only accepts 6 people each year and the final selection depends heavily on how well you fit into the group of aspirants. So successful completion of the training is not a guarantee for deployment. The extensive freedom the Siriusmen are given during their service in Greenland means that most either leave the military or join another special force, rather than return to the conventional forces. The former Siriusmen form a reserve that can be used for replacements in the patrol if needed, so some might serve for more than 2 years. During their first year of deployment, they're known as "youngest men" and are trained in specific trades by the men in their second year, who are known as "oldest men".

Published by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in 2023.