Yesterday evening, the ceremonial discharge of the new sergeants of the Austrian Armed Forces took place at the Army NCO Academy in Enns. The military ceremony followed today in the presence of Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and Chief of Staff Rudolf Striedinger. A total of 348 non-commissioned officers – including 22 women – were able to celebrate the successful completion of their non-commissioned officer training.
“I warmly congratulate the soldiers on their graduation and thus on the rank of sergeant, which they will bear from today. The soldiers of the NCO corps are the pillars of the Austrian Armed Forces’ daily operations, training, exercises and, above all, national and international missions. As of today, they assume great responsibility for their unit and are the role model for all future soldiers of the army. Starting today, you can show and apply what you have learned and demonstrate your leadership skills. I wish you all the best, much success and good luck as soldiers!” said Defense Minister Tanner. A total of 300 professional soldiers and 48 militia soldiers were commissioned as constables. 105 of the professional and militia soldiers (including nine women) come from Lower Austria, 34 participants come from the federal state of Vienna and 46 soldiers, including five women, come from Styria. They are followed by the federal states of Carinthia with 39 participants (including one woman), Upper Austria with 44 soldiers and 33 men and two women from Salzburg. The remaining NCOs came from Tyrol with 21 male and three female soldiers, Burgenland with twelve men and one woman and Vorarlberg with seven men and one woman.
The best of the year comes from Lower Austria. Platoon leader Marcel Burger, assigned as a construction pioneer with the Staff Company and Service Operations of the Lower Austria Military Command, achieved seven awards. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner awarded this outstanding achievement with the traditional Ring of Honor. “Platoon Leader Franz Lippert” course
To promote the community spirit of the NCO corps and to strengthen cohesion within the courses, course names and corresponding course badges were introduced in 1995. The respective names are chosen by the course participants. Outstanding non-commissioned officers of the former k.u.k. Army who were awarded the medal for bravery in the face of the enemy. https://militaeraktuell.at/neues-sturmgewehr-77-a1-mod-fuer-das-heer/ In exceptional cases, other particularly deserving persons from Austrian history who were NCOs at least once can also be selected. The deed committed must still appear exemplary to young NCOs today and be comprehensible to them. The participants in the 6th Cadre Candidate Training 3 chose Platoon Leader Franz Lippert as their course patron. As commander of a sapper platoon, Platoon Leader Lippert kept the last emergency bridge over the Nida passable in December 1914 – despite intense artillery fire. This enabled almost an entire division of 4,000 men to escape capture and reach safety. Platoon leader Lippert was decorated with the “Golden Medal of Valor” for this outstanding deed. Awarding of the course badge, academy ring and certificates
Along with the course badge, the graduation certificates and the silver academy ring of the Army NCO Academy were also awarded. The ring is a visible sign of solidarity with the Austrian NCO Corps. 
Speech by the Commandant
The Commandant of the Army NCO Academy, Colonel of the General Staff Service Klaus Klingenschmid, addressed the graduates once again in his speech. “You have achieved a high standard. You will do a lot of good in the troops. Together you can do it!” he said, motivating the graduates. We are already looking forward to seeing some of them return to the Army NCO Academy to train the next generation themselves. Farewell to the Army NCO Academy
The atmospheric ceremony in the courtyard of the Towarek School Barracks, the home of the Army NCO Academy, ended with a reorganization: the new sergeants left the NCO Academy and regrouped under the command of their future departments. The NCOs were thus symbolically released from the responsibility of their training center.”
