A few days ago, the swearing-in ceremony for 74 recruits from the Langenlebarn Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Troop School and 82 recruits from the Army Troop School in Zwölfaxing and Bruck an der Leitha took place in the courtyard of Perchtoldsdorf Castle. The soldiers joined the army on March 6.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner praised the swearing-in ceremony in public as a special and important event that demonstrates the interaction between the armed forces and the civilian population, because conscripts are the basis for the armed forces. Future cadre and militia soldiers are recruited from the basic conscripts. From April, women will be allowed to complete “voluntary basic military service”. Previously, if they were interested in a career as a soldier, they had to go straight into cadre candidate training. Now, voluntary basic military service offers them an orientation phase. Brigadier Kraft, Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence School, emphasized the importance of military national defence as the main task of the Austrian Armed Forces. After all, the Armed Forces are not only there to help in the event of disasters and provide support with assistance missions. “Defending what is dear and right to us is the task of soldiers,” said Kraft.
The recruits come from the federal states of Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria and Burgenland. They will be used at the Air Force and Air Defense Troop School in the Air Defense Institute for the training of the prospective cadre and throughout the school as functional soldiers. At the Army Troop School, they will continue their service in the training companies and the Mountain Combat Center. Some of the recruits who completed their basic training at the Aviation and Anti-Aircraft Troop School were transferred to the Eastern Medical Center in Vienna and the Southern Medical Center in Graz on 1 April and are completing their training as paramedics. A prospective military medic was transferred to the field ambulance in Hörsching for her further career.
