He was made Chief of Defence in 1989, only a week before the fall of the Berlin wall. In 1990, he order HDMS Olfert Fischer to the Persian Gulf, in order to participate in the First Gulf War, thereby starting Denmark's more active foreign policy. This led to the creation of the Danish International Brigade in 1993 and participation in the NATO led in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Operation Bøllebank became the first combat operation conducted by Danish Armed Forces since World War II.