In accordance with the “Armed Forces 2032+” development plan, the Armed Forces to ensure operational readiness both to fulfill its main mission, military national defence, and to support the authorities in crisis situations in Austria. An important factor here is the expansion of barracks to ensure self-sufficiency and the ability to act in the event of an emergency.
At the end of August, Salzburg’s Schwarzenberg Barracks in Wals-Siezenheim, the largest military property of the Austrian Armed Forces, reached the final stage of electricity self-sufficiency. This means that the military units and detachments at the Schwarzenberg barracks are now completely energy self-sufficient and can be supplied with electricity independently of external influences.
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On Tuesday afternoon, August 26, the construction work was completed and all emergency power generators and transformer stations were officially put into operation. The deputy military commander of Salzburg, Colonel Günther Gann, Husein Jukic from the engineering firm TB Hermann GmbH, as well as representatives of the companies Elin and Bruno Generator Group – the manufacturers of the emergency power generators – were present at the completion of the project and the final safety inspection.
Independence in electricity, drinking water and heat supply
Emergency power generators were installed at all transformer stations to ensure a self-sufficient power supply on the military property, thus guaranteeing a comprehensive supply of electrical energy independent of the public grid.
The supply of drinking water in the Schwarzenberg barracks is ensured by its own waterworks; waste water is drained via the local sewer system, which works hydrostatically.
The heat supply and hot water preparation in the Schwarzenberg barracks, which is supplied from the local district heating network, has been adapted so that existing boilers have been converted to oil burners and can be used to operate the heating network in an emergency.
Food and fuel stocks
For several years now, the refueling facilities in the Schwarzenberg barracks have had the option of connecting to an external power generator. The provision of appropriate catering reserves for the units and units deployed in the Schwarzenberg barracks also contributes to self-sufficiency and is provided by the use of field kitchens, which do not require electricity for cooking.
Planned expansion of all barracks to self-sufficiency
The priority for the Austrian Armed Forces is to ensure and guarantee its own command and full operational readiness in the barracks, both in fulfilling the main task of the Armed Forces, i.e. military national defense, as well as in the context of assistance missions in the event of disasters or crises.
In the final expansion stage, all barracks of the Austrian Armed Forces are to be equipped with complete self-sufficiency in order to be able to supply themselves independently of external influences over a longer period of time during operations.
