300 recruits had their big day on Friday. In the “Thomas Morgenstern Arena” in the municipality of Lendorf near Spittal, they pledged their allegiance to the Republic of Austria in the presence of numerous guests and relatives.
The ceremony was hosted and organized by the Carinthian military command in cooperation with the municipality of Lendorf. The swearing-in ceremony itself and the tribute to the dead at the St. Peter in Holz memorial were carried out by Jäger Battalion 26. The soldiers to be sworn in joined the Carinthian units and departments in Spittal an der Drau, Villach and Klagenfurt at the beginning of January and February 2019. In addition to Governor Peter Kaiser, the many guests and accompanying families of the recruits included Provincial Parliament President Reinhart Rohr, Federal Councillor Josef Ofner, Members of Parliament Gernot Darmann, Christoph Staudacher and Ferdinand Hueter as well as District Governor Klaus Brantner and Olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern.
“Society’s relationship with the armed forces has improved significantly and the most important contribution to this comes from the armed forces themselves. Well trained and with the appropriate know-how as well as a great willingness to cooperate, the recruits and soldiers are committed to national defense and border assistance operations and are also facing up to new challenges such as cybercrime,” said Kaiser. The Governor made special mention of the Armed Forces’ disaster response: “This commitment, this moral support, is priceless. As Governor, I would like to express my sincere thanks for this.” In her speech, Mayor Marika Lagger-Pöllinger emphasized that it was precisely on International Women’s Day that she was able to take the oath of office as mayor. “As a young woman myself, I saw my professional career in the army. But that was not possible at the time. A lot has changed since then. The armed forces are an indispensable part of society, as they prove time and again in the many disaster operations. As recruits, be aware of this responsibility towards society,” said Lagger-Pöllinger to the young soldiers.
Spittal-born Thomas Morgenstern, after whom the venue was named, was also a guest at the swearing-in ceremony. He was sworn in 2007, also on a Friday, in the municipality of Gmünd and was subsequently stationed in Faak am See as an army athlete. “I can still remember my swearing-in ceremony with Jäger Battalion 26, unfortunately we didn’t have such nice weather. But I have fond memories of my time in the army,” says Morgenstern. With his countless successes, the former ski jumper is one of the five athletes to have won the four most important competitions in the sport of ski jumping (Olympics, World Championships, Overall World Cup and Four Hills Tournament). The ceremony was accompanied by the Carinthian military music band under the direction of military bandmaster Lieutenant Colonel Dietmar Pranter, the Lendorfer Schuhplattler, the traditional costume band and the folk dance group.
