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RE-RELEASE: Around the Armed Forces duty stations, the units lack everything from weapons, ammunition and vehicles to equipment, up-to-date accommodation and modern training facilities. At the same time, the Armed Forces spend millions of kroner on art due to a circular from the 1970s. This arouses criticism among soldiers.
The article is a reprint and was originally published on October 21, 2022.
Dit may seem incomprehensible to spend millions of kroner on works of art, while lagging behind with basic soldier necessities such as ammunition, spare parts and personal equipment. This apparently also applies to the soldiers who regularly turn to OLFI or share their wonder at new art installations at the Armed Forces' establishments with colleagues and meme pages on social media . There are many examples of the large – and often expensive – art installations:
Next to the main guard at Karup Airport, a DKK 650,000 combined swing stand and oversized Czech hedgehog welcomes visitors, at Almegårds Kaserne in 2019 the much-maligned sensory path was installed for DKK seven million, and at the Schleswig Infantry Regiment at Haderslev Kaserne, a stone mosaic has just been installed in the lawn in the central barracks - price: DKK 1.2 million.
The article continues below the picture...
The work next to the main guard at Karup Airport was carried out by Ion Sørvin and cost 650,000. Photo: The Property Agency of the Ministry of Defence
What three examples have in common is that many of the soldiers who walk up and down the artworks on a daily basis find it difficult to see the scam in the massive aesthetic investments, while so much else lags behind. One of the critical voices is First Lieutenant Anders Krojgaard Lund, who is a platoon leader at the Schleswig Foot Regiment and a conservative parliamentary candidate:
"When the Armed Forces are in an economic situation where, in my view, combat power should be prioritized, you must per definition not prioritizing art. One must ask: What is the function and what fighting power do we get from using the money in this way? Or rather: Can we get more fighting power by using the money in a different way? Art imparts zero combat power, so the answer must therefore logically be: Yes, you can. You can always use the money better than that. On gunpowder and bullets, for example.'
"As one of my soldiers says: He would rather have a high-cut helmet than he wants a statue. There are many things like this where the soldiers can quickly translate it into something practical. We would rather have a better training room than we want to decorate the barracks. It does us no good. But that there are holes in the floor in the gym, that the pull-up rack is broken, or that the safety bolt in the bench press rack is missing - these are things like that that matter to people,' says Anders Krojgaard Lund.
The article continues below the picture...
Click on the picture if you want to read more about the sensory trail at Almegards Kaserne on Bornholm...
A slightly more positive voice is chief sergeant and regimental commander at the Schleswig Infantry Regiment Morten Nielsen. He emphasizes that the history of the regiment and the barracks is incorporated into the motifs in the mosaic, which is also designed so that it can be used for educational purposes. In addition, representatives of the regiment and the barracks management have had a lot of influence along the way on the design of the work and thus the final result, which the management is therefore very satisfied with.
If the Danish Property Authority had put a bag of money in front of the barracks management, the money would probably not have been allocated to art in the first place, he admits:
"If we had completely free hands, I think we would probably have put a million into our indoor training facilities over in the gymnasium. The wish list among light infantrymen is long, and they want a lot. But I think that you can easily spend a million on making good training facilities for a battalion.'
"The defense has had to save in so many ways, and then you see that a work of art has been erected, which the soldier can in no way use for anything, and which has even cost a lot of millions. It makes one think: OK, is there head and tail in this? We're closer to World War III than we've ever been - shouldn't we keep the money? It may well be that it is little money in the grand scheme of things, but that is also the signal value in it,' explains Michael Gottlieb and elaborates on his point:
"It boils down to a perception that the money is being used incorrectly and that there are too many people without uniform running the Armed Forces. Art becomes an example of that for the soldier who thinks: Now there are some without uniform who have spent a lot of money on something we don't need anyway and who don't save us in war. At least that's how it is for me.'
The article continues below the picture...
Click on the picture if you want to read about 10 of the art projects that the Armed Forces have invested in over the past few years...
Michael Gottlieb himself has nothing against art and culture, which he believes play an important role and generally benefit a society, he emphasizes.
"This is also what we as soldiers are fighting for. It is Denmark and the society we live in. But for too many years, the security policy threat we are facing has not been listened to. Defense has been neglected and resources have been taken from us. I can't help but think: Shouldn't we instead throw the money into an extra tank, so that we can better defend our society?'
The art circular, which is rightly called "Circular on artistic decoration of state buildings etc", originates from 2004, but traces back to the 1970s. At the time, it was introduced partly to provide art support to Danish artists and partly to beautify the state's buildings across ministerial areas of responsibility.
In one of the central provisions of the circular, it appears that "the amount for artistic decoration must correspond to 1.5 per cent of the tradesman's expenses excl. VAT, as these are calculated in the governing budget at the latest at the time of the project proposal'. The provision applies to both new buildings and renovations, which in practice means that the budget for art is fixed as soon as the craftsmen's price does.
OLFI has asked the Housing and Planning Agency about the possibilities to deviate from the provision. Here they will not be quoted during the ongoing election campaign, but a representative of the agency explains to OLFI that there are no exemption options in the circular. It is therefore not up to the Ministry of Defence's Property Agency to decide whether art should be installed when renovations or new buildings are carried out, and in the future it will therefore also be the tradesmen's expenses that determine how much money must be spent on beautifying the Defense establishments.
olfi.dk
_____________________________________
I understand the value of art to a certain degree, but if the Armed Forces can't properly arm and supply their units and their training then, screw art.
Dumb politicians making decisions 20+ years after WW2 is to the detriment of us all.
The article is a reprint and was originally published on October 21, 2022.
Dit may seem incomprehensible to spend millions of kroner on works of art, while lagging behind with basic soldier necessities such as ammunition, spare parts and personal equipment. This apparently also applies to the soldiers who regularly turn to OLFI or share their wonder at new art installations at the Armed Forces' establishments with colleagues and meme pages on social media . There are many examples of the large – and often expensive – art installations:
Next to the main guard at Karup Airport, a DKK 650,000 combined swing stand and oversized Czech hedgehog welcomes visitors, at Almegårds Kaserne in 2019 the much-maligned sensory path was installed for DKK seven million, and at the Schleswig Infantry Regiment at Haderslev Kaserne, a stone mosaic has just been installed in the lawn in the central barracks - price: DKK 1.2 million.
The article continues below the picture...
The work next to the main guard at Karup Airport was carried out by Ion Sørvin and cost 650,000. Photo: The Property Agency of the Ministry of Defence
What three examples have in common is that many of the soldiers who walk up and down the artworks on a daily basis find it difficult to see the scam in the massive aesthetic investments, while so much else lags behind. One of the critical voices is First Lieutenant Anders Krojgaard Lund, who is a platoon leader at the Schleswig Foot Regiment and a conservative parliamentary candidate:
"When the Armed Forces are in an economic situation where, in my view, combat power should be prioritized, you must per definition not prioritizing art. One must ask: What is the function and what fighting power do we get from using the money in this way? Or rather: Can we get more fighting power by using the money in a different way? Art imparts zero combat power, so the answer must therefore logically be: Yes, you can. You can always use the money better than that. On gunpowder and bullets, for example.'
Would have spent the money on training facilities myself
At Haderslev Barracks, artist Mette Winckelmann, in collaboration with a number of landscape gardeners, has just put the finishing touches on a stone mosaic on the lawn in the inner barrack yard. The price on the good side of a million has caused many soldiers with daily visits to the barracks to open their eyes, because both on the material side and in relation to the maintenance standard, the situation also for the Schleswig Infantry Regiment still leaves a lot to be desired."As one of my soldiers says: He would rather have a high-cut helmet than he wants a statue. There are many things like this where the soldiers can quickly translate it into something practical. We would rather have a better training room than we want to decorate the barracks. It does us no good. But that there are holes in the floor in the gym, that the pull-up rack is broken, or that the safety bolt in the bench press rack is missing - these are things like that that matter to people,' says Anders Krojgaard Lund.
The article continues below the picture...
Click on the picture if you want to read more about the sensory trail at Almegards Kaserne on Bornholm...A slightly more positive voice is chief sergeant and regimental commander at the Schleswig Infantry Regiment Morten Nielsen. He emphasizes that the history of the regiment and the barracks is incorporated into the motifs in the mosaic, which is also designed so that it can be used for educational purposes. In addition, representatives of the regiment and the barracks management have had a lot of influence along the way on the design of the work and thus the final result, which the management is therefore very satisfied with.
If the Danish Property Authority had put a bag of money in front of the barracks management, the money would probably not have been allocated to art in the first place, he admits:
"If we had completely free hands, I think we would probably have put a million into our indoor training facilities over in the gymnasium. The wish list among light infantrymen is long, and they want a lot. But I think that you can easily spend a million on making good training facilities for a battalion.'
It's about signal value
Anders Krojgaard Lund is not alone in his criticism of the prioritization of works of art. At the III Reconnaissance Battalion on Bornholm, First Lieutenant Michael Gottlieb has gone with the same thoughts as his officer colleague in Southern Jutland."The defense has had to save in so many ways, and then you see that a work of art has been erected, which the soldier can in no way use for anything, and which has even cost a lot of millions. It makes one think: OK, is there head and tail in this? We're closer to World War III than we've ever been - shouldn't we keep the money? It may well be that it is little money in the grand scheme of things, but that is also the signal value in it,' explains Michael Gottlieb and elaborates on his point:
"It boils down to a perception that the money is being used incorrectly and that there are too many people without uniform running the Armed Forces. Art becomes an example of that for the soldier who thinks: Now there are some without uniform who have spent a lot of money on something we don't need anyway and who don't save us in war. At least that's how it is for me.'
The article continues below the picture...
Click on the picture if you want to read about 10 of the art projects that the Armed Forces have invested in over the past few years...Michael Gottlieb himself has nothing against art and culture, which he believes play an important role and generally benefit a society, he emphasizes.
"This is also what we as soldiers are fighting for. It is Denmark and the society we live in. But for too many years, the security policy threat we are facing has not been listened to. Defense has been neglected and resources have been taken from us. I can't help but think: Shouldn't we instead throw the money into an extra tank, so that we can better defend our society?'
No exemption options in art circulars
The mosaic at Haderslev Barracks is far from the only example of the Ministry of Defence's Real Estate Agency spending many thousands of kroner - in some cases millions - on art. However, there is apparently not much to do. Many of the installations – with the aforementioned sensory trail at Almegårds Kaserne as an exception – find their explanation in the so-called art circular.The art circular, which is rightly called "Circular on artistic decoration of state buildings etc", originates from 2004, but traces back to the 1970s. At the time, it was introduced partly to provide art support to Danish artists and partly to beautify the state's buildings across ministerial areas of responsibility.
In one of the central provisions of the circular, it appears that "the amount for artistic decoration must correspond to 1.5 per cent of the tradesman's expenses excl. VAT, as these are calculated in the governing budget at the latest at the time of the project proposal'. The provision applies to both new buildings and renovations, which in practice means that the budget for art is fixed as soon as the craftsmen's price does.
OLFI has asked the Housing and Planning Agency about the possibilities to deviate from the provision. Here they will not be quoted during the ongoing election campaign, but a representative of the agency explains to OLFI that there are no exemption options in the circular. It is therefore not up to the Ministry of Defence's Property Agency to decide whether art should be installed when renovations or new buildings are carried out, and in the future it will therefore also be the tradesmen's expenses that determine how much money must be spent on beautifying the Defense establishments.
OLFI - Forsvaret tvunget til at bruge millioner på kunst, mens soldater mangler næsten alt
Artiklen er en genudgivelse og blev oprindeligt publiceret 21. oktober 2022.
olfi.dk
I understand the value of art to a certain degree, but if the Armed Forces can't properly arm and supply their units and their training then, screw art.
Dumb politicians making decisions 20+ years after WW2 is to the detriment of us all.
