At a military ceremony in Enns on Friday in the presence of Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, 745 soldiers were discharged with their new rank of “Wachtmeister” after successfully completing the Army NCO Academy. As of today, the 686 men and 59 women are officially part of the non-commissioned officer corps of the Austrian Armed Forces.
Federal Minister Tanner congratulated the HUAk graduates of the “Karl Kaindl” course on their promotion: “The non-commissioned officers are the pillars of the Austrian Armed Forces’ daily operations, training, exercises and, above all, national and international missions. I am therefore all the more pleased that I can be present today at what is the first time I have ever been discharged from service. As the first female Minister of Defense of the Republic of Austria, I am of course particularly pleased that 59 women are among your ranks. From now on, you will be a link between the officers and the enlisted personnel. Now you can show and apply what you have learned and demonstrate your leadership skills. I wish you all the best, much success and good luck as soldiers,” Federal Minister Tanner concluded her speech. In addition, Klaudia Tanner presented the first student of this year’s course, Constable Katharina Holzinger from Styria, with the golden ring of the Army NCO Academy for her outstanding achievements.
The ceremony for the 622 professional soldiers and 123 militia soldiers took place on the main square in Enns. 203 of the professional and militia soldiers (including 15 women) come from Lower Austria, 99 participants (ten women) come from the province of Upper Austria and 96 soldiers, including nine women, come from Styria. They are followed by the federal states of Carinthia with 89 participants (including three women), Vienna with 70 soldiers (five women) and 60 men and four women from Burgenland. The remaining NCOs come from Salzburg (63 soldiers, including 7 women), Tyrol (45, including four women) and Vorarlberg (16, including two women). The “Karl Kaindl” course is named in memory of platoon leader Karl Kaindl. Kaindl was awarded the silver medal for his determination and intrepidity in the 10th Battle of the Isonzo and the gold medal for bravery for ‘extremely outstanding conduct in front of the enemy’ in the battle in the Jamiano area, both in 1917.
