The Austrian Armed Forces will continue to protect properties in Vienna – the Council of Ministers decided today to continue the assistance service until November 30. This means that up to 300 soldiers will continue to guard embassies and other particularly vulnerable facilities in the federal capital on security police assistance missions and relieve the police in times of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Austrian Armed Forces continue to be a reliable security partner in the fight against the pandemic. Our soldiers stand by the police. In view of the ongoing pandemic, this is a matter of course and also necessary in order to jointly cope with personnel burdens in times of crisis,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.
“The cooperation between the police and the armed forces has grown and proven itself over decades and is part of Austria’s security architecture. The soldiers do an outstanding job in protecting important objects and thus contribute to the high level of security in Austria,” said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer.
Since November 3, 2020, up to 240 specially trained soldiers have been protecting over 50 objects such as embassies and particularly sensitive objects in Vienna. The Armed Forces personnel come from all over Austria. They are assigned to the Vienna Provincial Police Directorate for this assistance mission and fulfill the tasks of the executive. Military planning and command is the responsibility of the Vienna Military Command.
The objects of protection are selected by the police and assigned to the Vienna Military Command. The strength of the guard team varies and depends on the respective protection requirements. The powers assigned to the guards correspond to those of the police.
In 2016 and 2017, soldiers worked with the Ministry of the Interior to guard properties worthy of protection during the refugee crisis, such as embassies in Vienna. On November 3, 2020, the assistance mission for property protection began as part of the fight against the pandemic.
The Austrian Armed Forces currently have a total of 2,775 soldiers deployed: 291 provide support with entry control and contact tracing, 38 with Covid-19 tests, 1,388 cross and guard the national border and embassies, 1,026 are deployed abroad and 32 provide paid support.
