On Thursday, the Burgenland Military Command hosted the traditional press breakfast in the architecturally impressive Martin Barracks in Eisenstadt. Military commander Brigadier Gernot Gasser, the commander of Jäger Battalion 19 from Güssing, Colonel Christian Luipersbeck, and the commander of the Army Troop School, Colonel Dieter Schadenböck, gave a review of 2024 and an outlook on the Austrian Armed Forces in general and the situation in Burgenland in particular. Patrick Huber was on site for Militär Aktuell.
The terrorist attack on Israel by the radical Islamic group Hamas and its subsequent defensive strike (October 2023), the takeover by Islamist rebels in Syria (December 2024) and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine (February 2022, -> current news from the war in Ukraine) – these are all factors that have permanently changed the political security structure of Europe, said Brigadier Gasser at the beginning of his presentation. In conjunction with the fact that the USA wants to reduce its military involvement in Europe (-> Marco Rubio: “China is our main adversary) and the Europeans must therefore take on more responsibility, it is essential to invest in national defense. This is happening across Europe.
Gasser: “Russia has brought the war back to Europe. It has been understood that Europe’s security is now in the hands of the European states and that this security is not free. In Austria, the budget situation has changed considerably.” According to Gasser, experts assume that Russia will be “capable of attack” again from 2030 and that this will remain a threat to Europe: “Even if a direct attack on Austria is unlikely, strategic transport routes run through Austria that may have to be defended.”
Gasser also addressed the issue of air defence: “With the existing air defence systems, the maximum range is limited to six kilometers. However, a medium-range missile, such as the one Russia is using in Ukraine, has a range of over 1,500 kilometers, not to mention long-range missiles. We see Russia’s daily missile attacks on Ukraine. We need to understand this message.”
Another danger that the Armed Forces must be prepared for is terrorism, whereby, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the greatest threat in Austria has been posed for several years by Islamists living here or infiltrating the country, or those who have already infiltrated Austria in the migrant flows since 2015.
According to Gasser, the current investments in the armed forces as part of the “Mission Forward” are not actually an “upgrade”, but rather an urgently needed “retrofit”, because the army has been financially and materially bled dry for decades. A lot had already been done here, especially in Burgenland. Colonel Christian Luipersbeck, commander of Jäger Battalion 19 from Güssing: “In the coming years, we will receive around 100 Pandur Evolution for Jäger Battalion 19 and our militia, Jäger Battalion Burgenland.” The equipment is also being modernized in other respects, says the colonel: “New equipment has already arrived and we are already training on this equipment. The armed forces are really being modernized at the moment and this is also having a very positive effect on the motivation of the soldiers.”
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The issue of self-sufficiency for the barracks is also currently playing a major role. In Eisenstadt and Güssing, independence from the public power supply has already been secured, and in Bruckneudorf it should be achieved soon – at the end of this year.
Colonel Dieter Schadenböck in turn referred to the importance of the Army Troop School as a training ground for the land forces. A good 180 training courses are planned for this year alone. In addition, a contribution is being made to the “2032+ development plan” (-> Interview with Head of Planning Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer: “We are really stepping up the pace!”) by drawing up training plans for new weapon systems and regulations and carrying out trials. Last year (2024), almost 1,700 soldiers were trained in 159 courses.
Although there is still “room for improvement” in terms of personnel, the personnel situation at the Burgenland military command is quite satisfactory compared to the rest of Austria, emphasized military commander Brigadier Gasser. Nevertheless, he expressed concerns in several respects, as the mobilization strength of 55,000 men planned for Austria is alarmingly low – and the colonel provided several examples to back this up: “In Sweden it is 110,000 soldiers, in Switzerland a good 150,000 and in Finland over 1 million.”
The question (unpopular with many politicians) of whether six months of basic military service is still sufficient should also be seriously considered. In October 2024, Chief of the General Staff Rudolf Striedinger had already called for an extension of military service. Gasser at the press breakfast in Eisenstadt: “Weapon systems are becoming more modern and increasingly complex.” Intensifying training in order to make better use of the current six months of basic military service is de facto no longer possible. “We are preparing for military national defense, which is the highest league of all. In Finland and Switzerland, basic military service lasts no months, in Sweden eleven months, in Greece and Norway even twelve months. With only six months, we are pretty much alone in the field.”
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