Today, Friday, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and State Secretary Claudia Plakolm handed over the new camouflage uniforms to the cadre personnel of the Army NCO Academy at a ceremony in Enns. State Secretary Plakolm played her trombone in support of the Upper Austrian military band, which provided the musical accompaniment to the ceremony.
“In addition to the modern camouflage suit, as we handed it over to the cadre personnel today, we also need numerous improvements in manpower, weapons and equipment, including major investments in protected mobility as well as the procurement of multi-purpose helicopters or investments in infrastructure in order to be well equipped for current and future challenges,” said the Minister of Defense at the handover. “The pandemic, the environmental disasters of recent years and not least the war in Ukraine have clearly shown us that a functioning and well-equipped Armed Forces is not a luxury, but a necessity. Especially for young people, for the next generation, we must bring the army up to date and equip it properly. When young men and women spend half a year of their lives there, it should be an exciting trial apprenticeship with the appropriate equipment for a career in national defense,” said State Secretary for Youth Plakolm.
The two politicians then joined the female graduates’ meeting and met with female soldiers from all over Austria to exchange experiences. Around 130 female soldiers of all ranks who have completed officer or non-commissioned officer training at one of the three academies of the Austrian Armed Forces (National Defense Academy, Military Academy and Army NCO Academy) took part in the meeting. “Younger female soldiers can benefit from the experience of women who have been serving for longer. New ideas from the younger generation in turn complement the wealth of experience of all the female members of our department. I am therefore delighted that there is a regular exchange of experiences among the women of the Armed Forces,” added the Minister during her visit.
Camouflage uniform
It is planned to equip between 3,000 and 4,000 female and male soldiers with the new camouflage uniform each year. The annual procurement volume for this amounts to around 1.6 million euros. The re-equipping of Jäger Battalion 18 began in 2019, with camouflage printing becoming the international standard – Austria is thus following the global military trend. The modern camouflage pattern, which has been specially tested for Austria, is adapted to the Austrian vegetation. The new surface camouflage print is suitable for a wide range of applications in both natural and urban terrain. The special infrared emission values of the individual colors make reconnaissance with optronic reconnaissance equipment such as night vision devices more difficult. Provisions have also been made to insert knee and elbow protectors, which means more body protection for the soldiers. https://militaeraktuell.at/luft-boden-schiessen-der-eurofighter-geplant/ Women in the Army
In accordance with the Federal Ministry of Defense’s plan to promote women, the Army NCO Academy was chosen to host the reunion of female graduates of the National Defense Academy, the Theresian Military Academy and the Army NCO Academy in 2022. The graduate meetings are an official measure in implementation of the Ministry of Defense’s regulation on the promotion of women. The aim of this meeting is to promote networking among female graduates and to facilitate the exchange of experiences.
