Today, around 100 soldiers from Jäger Battalion 24 in Tyrol and Jäger Battalion 19 in Güssing are deploying as reinforcements to the EUFOR ALTHEA force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The professional soldiers will be undergoing operational training there over the next few weeks.
“Austria is committed to actively participating in crisis management and international peacekeeping missions in order to meet the new challenges of the 21st century,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner. The Minister continued: “Current security policy challenges can only be overcome through international cooperation within a European network. This means that in addition to the main task of military national defense, participation in international peacekeeping missions is also an important task for the Austrian Armed Forces. The training of our reinforcements for the EUFOR ALTHEA mission shows how seriously we take our long-term contribution to stability in the Balkans.” https://militaeraktuell.at/schiebel-camcopter-s-100-bei-nato-marineuebung/ The Austrian Armed Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Since December 2004, Austrian soldiers in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been under the command of the European Union’s EUFOR ALTHEA. Together with their comrades from many other nations – but above all from the EU – they are supporting compliance with the Dayton Agreement. The soldiers’ main mission is to ensure a safe life for the population in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to intervene in internal conflicts. Support for the Bosnian security forces can be guaranteed to a certain extent if necessary. In this way, Austria is making a significant contribution to peace in Europe. The commander of the EUFOR ALTHEA mission is the Austrian Major General Helmut Habermayer (-> Report on the assumption of command in January). The mission
The basis for the deployment of the international peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina is set out in the Dayton Agreement and UN Resolution 2384. As the peaceful development of Bosnia and Herzegovina is of particular importance to Austria alongside Kosovo, the Austrian Armed Forces have been involved in the mission since 1996. Since December 1995 the mission has been under NATO command and was called IFOR (“Implementation Force”), from December 1996 SFOR (“Stabilization Force”). At the end of 2004, the EU took over the mission, which has since been operating under the name EUFOR ALTHEA.
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