53 soldiers from the AFDRU disaster relief unit of the Armed Forces have been active around the clock in Slovakia since March 26 to support the fight against foot-and-mouth disease – The mission has now come to an end.
The task of the specialists from the Austrian Armed Forces was to support the local emergency services in containing the disease and thus preventing it from spreading. The soldiers decontaminated large vehicles at the Rajka border crossing between Hungary and Slovakia. In eleven days, 6,400 large vehicles were decontaminated with 25,000 liters of chemicals and 250,000 liters of water.
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Today our soldiers return to Austria, where they will maintain and refit their equipment and then be ready for further missions.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner: “In these challenging days for all farms in Slovakia and Austria, the strong cohesion in the European Union is once again evident. The soldiers of the AFDRU Disaster Relief Unit of the Austrian Armed Forces were immediately ready for action to provide round-the-clock support in the fight against foot-and-mouth disease. My thanks go to the female and male soldiers of the AFDRU unit, as these specialists’ tireless efforts have helped to at least slow down the spread of the disease, allowing further measures to be taken elsewhere in good time.”
The AFDRU team was activated as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and supported the operational measures. The operation was co-financed with funds from the EU’s European Civil Protection Mechanism.
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