During a visit to the Loosdorf logistics center of “Spar Österreichische Warenhandels-AG” on November 12, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner promised support with up to 100 logistics experts from the Austrian Armed Forces.
Over the next two weeks, logisticians will be helping to package PCR test kits in two food warehouses. In each case, 50 soldiers, civilian staff and conscripts will help with the logistics process in the Marchtrenk and Loosdorf warehouses. The army logisticians come from supply facilities in Lower Austria and Upper Austria. “We have really well-developed vaccination services throughout Austria, so I am delighted that there is now increased interest in vaccination. Vaccination is the only way we can reduce the high infection rates again. And our soldiers and civilian staff are helping where they are urgently needed. This now also includes the deployment of logistics experts,” says Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.
As recently as May, soldiers, civilian staff and conscripts from the Austrian Armed Forces logistics centers provided support by taking over antigen tests from pharmaceutical wholesalers and distributing them down to district level. In 2019 and 2020 alone, the members of the Austrian Armed Forces helped with support services totaling 300,000 working hours.
Assistance or support service?
The armed forces are deployed on assistance missions to help in the aftermath of disasters. The police or the Ministry of the Interior can also request soldiers for a “security police assistance mission” if their own personnel resources are no longer sufficient. In these cases, the costs are borne by the armed forces. The situation is different with so-called support services provided by the army: here, soldiers, civilian employees or conscripts usually take on activities as part of their training that also benefit the military. In this case, the applicant bears the costs. The Austrian Armed Forces currently has over 1,800 soldiers on assistance missions in Austria. More than 409 of them alone are performing health authority tasks and helping with contact tracing. On November 15, a further 70 soldiers will be deployed for this purpose. The Austrian Armed Forces will then also operate a vaccination center in Nenzing, Vorarlberg.
