On Friday, 340 recruits took their oath of allegiance to the Republic of Austria on the main square in Freistadt. Wolfgang Stanek, Member of Parliament, delivered the Governor’s message of greeting to the young soldiers of the Armored Staff Battalion. The swearing-in ceremony took place in the presence of the Head of Directorate 1 – Commander of Land Forces and Special Operations Forces, Major General Martin Dorfer, the Commander of the 4th Armored Infantry Brigade, Brigadier Siegward Schier, and the Mayor of Freistadt, Christian Gratzl.
The celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the 4th Armored Infantry Brigade began with a weapons display. At this, the public was able to find out about the various weapons and vehicles of the 4th Armored Infantry Brigade – from infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks to long-range artillery and the specialists from the armored staff battalion, which can be deployed to care for the wounded or to defend against NBC threats, among other things. The presentation was joined by the other emergency services, fire department and police with information stands. A field post office had a special postmark and the festival brochure and cards from the battalions were available for posting. A jumping tower delighted courageous jumpers, who were not deterred by the drizzle from completing their jumps.
In the afternoon, the Upper Austrian military band gave a standing concert and the mayor tapped the first keg of beer. Beforehand, there was a raffle with the chance to win a ride on the armored vehicles. Due to the heavy rain, the planned grand finale was canceled.
The speakers emphasized their gratitude to the recruits for their willingness to stand up for the security of Austria and its people. Be this despite a hard soldier’s life for the spearhead of the Austrian Armed Forcesas the commander of the 4th Panzergrenadier Brigade, Brigadier Schier, emphasized. Major General Dorfer spoke of the change in the previous world order and the associated challenges, the achievements of the “Fourth” despite all the ups and downs and paid tribute to the recruits for taking the oath. Wolfgang Stanek kept his speech short in view of the heavy rain and congratulated the “Fourth” on 60 years on behalf of the province of Upper Austria and the recruits for making Austria one of the safest countries in the world together. Everyone wished the soldiers good luck for the time ahead.
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