In the 37th week of the calendar year, Staff Battalion 3, in cooperation with the Krems University of Applied Sciences, held a training course for cadre soldiers from the NBC defense company. This involved the processing and evaluation of biological samples.
A total of 20 professional soldiers took samples from various surfaces, cultivated the microorganisms on culture media and used common test systems to identify the bacteria.
Under the scientific supervision of the Krems University of Applied Sciences, the training enabled specialists in NBC reconnaissance to work together with those in decontamination and also offered the soldiers in water treatment the opportunity to deepen their knowledge. On Monday, the first day of calendar week 37, after learning the basics of scientific work, samples were taken in the Raab barracks. First of all, swab samples were taken from unprepared surfaces. These surfaces were then prepared with a test strain (Escherichia coli, DSM 498, K12 wild type, safety level 1) and new swab samples were taken. After decontamination of the surfaces, new samples were taken. The samples obtained in this way were then transported to the laboratory at the University of Applied Sciences and kept under different storage conditions. The actual work in the laboratory followed the next day. After a general briefing on safety regulations and the equipment to be used, the analysis of the samples on the culture media began. Various preliminary tests were carried out to identify the bacteria and fungal cultures, such as Gram staining, oxidase or catalase. The evaluation of the identification kits, compilation of the results, interpretation of the results and presentation formed the conclusion of the training course.
For the first time, this cooperation offers Staff Battalion 3 the opportunity to evaluate its own work in the field of biology in the laboratory of the Krems University of Applied Sciences in the immediate vicinity of the Mautern garrison. In a kind of “quality control”, it is thus possible to assess the care taken in the application of work techniques for the absorption of microorganisms on the one hand and decontamination on the other. The intention is to incorporate the knowledge acquired through the cooperation with the Krems University of Applied Sciences into the training of basic military personnel in the NBC defense company. Staff Battalion 3 would like to thank the Institute of Biotechnology under the direction of Harald Hundsberger and his staff for making this interesting cooperation possible for the NBC Defense Company of Staff Battalion 3. Special thanks go to Professor of Microbiology Barbara Entler, who explained the theoretical and scientific background to the cadre personnel and also taught them how to work in the laboratory. And Staff Battalion 3 is particularly proud that Hans Peter Weitzenböck’s basic military service in the NBC defense company led to this cooperation.
Colonel Georg Härtinger, Commander of Staff Battalion 3: “In a unique cooperation project between Staff Battalion 3 and Krems University of Applied Sciences, specialists in nuclear, biological and chemical threats from the battalion were able to take biological samples from different surfaces before and after decontamination and cultivate and identify these microorganisms on culture media in the immediate vicinity of the garrison under scientific supervision in the laboratory at Krems University of Applied Sciences and present the results.”
