AU supports Uniform at Work Day
On the first national Uniform at Work Day on 27 September, staff and students who are also Danish reservists or volunteers in the Home Guard, Emergency Management Agency, and Coastal Rescue Service are encouraged to wear their uniform on campus.
Lotte Bøgh Andersen is a professor at the Department of Political Science and head of the Crown Prince Frederik Center for Public Leadership. And she’s also a captain of the Engineer Regiment Reserve. And sometimes these two roles overlap when she is called up as a reservist while on the job at AU.
Lotte Bøgh Andersen, professor at the Department of Political Science and head of Crown Prince Frederik's Centre for Public Leadership, already knows what she will be wearing on the last Wednesday in September: the green military fatigues she wears when on active duty as a captain of the Engineer Regiment Reserve.
Normally, she keeps her two career paths separate – her civilian profession as an academic and her military service as a reservist in the Danish Armed Forces. But on 27 September, the two paths will intersect. Because 27 September is the first national ‘Uniform at work’ day. This day has been instituted to honour the contribution of the Reserve Force to Denmark on the initiative of the Danish Minister of Defence.
Lotte Bøgh Andersen said: “I’m really proud to work at a place that supports this day, and I’m pleased about the pat on the back from Aarhus University for staff and students who serve by putting on their uniforms when they’re needed.”
On the first national Uniform at Work Day, she will be hosting an event for reservist and volunteer staff and students in uniform at the Crown Prince Frederik Center for Public Leadership. The event will feature talks about the latest research into leadership in the Armed Forces and as well as a forum for discussing the role of the Armed Forces in society.
Susanne Bach Lausten, Surgeon General of the Danish Armed Forces Health Services, will attend on behalf of the High Command of the Danish Armed Forces.
From officewear to fatigues
Andersen was a first lieutenant in the Danish Armed Forces in the early 90s when she started studying political science at university. She has since continued her military career as a reservist. Most of her academic colleagues are aware of her role in the Reserve Force – sometimes they see her leaving her office in her green military fatigues on her way to a reservist assignment. For example at the Port of Aarhus, which is currently receiving American military equipment on its way to NATO operations in Europe:
“When I meet students and colleagues in uniform, they’re often curious and interested in my role as captain in the Reserve Force, and I’m more than happy to tell them about it to help people understand what we do as reservists and how important that is,” she said. “But I’m far from the only one, so I encourage all staff and students who are part of the Reserve Force to follow suit on Uniform at Work Day.”
An event to mark Uniform at Work Day will take place on 27 September from 11:15 to 12:00 in building 1340/the Crown Prince Frederik Center for Public Leadership in Aarhus. The deadline for registration is 21 September. Write to eh@ps.au.dk to register.
Facts:
Uniform at Work Day is a new annual designated day that will take place on the last Wednesday of September each year from now on. On this day, all Danish reservists and volunteers in the Home Guard, Emergency Management Agency, and Coastal Rescue Service are allowed to wear their uniform to their civilian workplace or educational institution.
There are about 3,000 reservists in Denmark who serve with the Armed Forces, the Home Guard or the Emergency Management Agency. The Home Guard also has about 43,000 volunteers, about 13,000 of whom are active. There are about 450 volunteers in the Emergency Management Agency and about 200 volunteers in the Coastal Rescue Service.
Source: Interforce