Forsvarsministerens Medalje – Notable recipients

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Sergeant Maurice Lindegaard Manuel
Captain of the Danish Invictus Games Team, awarded October 2014

Sergeant Manuel stepped on an IED in 2010 in Afghanistan and had his leg amputated below the knee. Minister of Defense Nicolai Wammen said that “… for the great effort he have done for the veteran athletics. Maurice have, among other things, introduced wounded soldiers in Uganda to veteran athletics and during the Invictus Games in London, he played a great role for the Danish contribution.”


Psychologist Anne Lillelund
Awarded March 2014

Army Psychologist Lillelund have been in the Danish Defence for 6 years and have been deployed 18 times. She have done a lot of work in improving the way military psychologist work and she have been responsible for training a lot of the new psychologists in the defence.


Rescuer Christian Isaksen
Awarded March 2014

Volunteer Rescue of the Coastal SAR Service have recieved the medal for showing great heroism in two cases. In both cases he rescued drowning persons, once by jumping into the icy harbour without PPE.
Although he showed a great deal of heroism, his own life was not directly in danger and therefore he wasn’t awarded The Medal for Saving Life from Drowning.


Doctor Sohail Asghar, Phd
Doctor at the Danish Emergency Management Agency, Danish Emergency Mobile Hospital, awarded October 2012

Asghar where deployed with the hospital to Pakistan during the 2010 flood. Ashgar where responsible for the coordination between Danish and Pakistani doctors and training of the Pakistani medical personnel. Asghar helped create a network to find Danish doctors with Pakistani backgrounds to deploy, which helped with the language and cultural problems. Asghar and 11 other Pakistani-Danish doctors treated more then 154,000 patients.


Sergeant Jacob Panton-Kristiansen
Tank commander, awarded October 2012

Tank Commander Panton-Kristiansen left his tank during a patrol in Afghanistan to inspect some damage to one of the tracks. The enemy RPG hit besides him and he was struck by fragments and shortly after that an enemy sniper shot him in the shoulder. He called out to his comrades that he was okay and it was to dangerous for them to leave the vehicle. He managed to crawl back into the tank while getting shot 3 more times.
Back in the tank, with his crew, they find and eliminate the enemy. When he was finally MEDEVAC’ed to the Field Hospital he only had ½ liter of blood left in his body.
Oh and on a side note – He was shoy by another sniper one month earlier!
– Personally I can’t understand why he only got the Minister of Defence Medal and not the Medal for Bravery.


Consultant Yvonne Tønnesen
Army Constable and Corporal Association (Union), awarded March 2010
Yvonne works as a consultant and have the responsibility of 307 PTSD-struck soldiers. She helps with everything, big and small. Yvonne ofte walks that extra mile to make sure “her” soldiers get the help they need.


6 Contact Officers
Awarded March 2010

Six contact officers have been awarded the medal for their work as being the officers responsible for taking care of families who lost a soldier in war. Being the person to tell a mother that her son have been killed is not an easy job!


War Surgeon E. Warburg
Copenhagen University Hospital, awarded March 2010

Awarded for the priceless effort Surgeon Warburg have done for the wounded soldiers who have lost limbs in the war.