The swearing-in ceremony for those recruits who enlisted in September took place on Friday in Bludesch in the Walgau barracks. Due to the corona measures, the ceremony had to be held behind closed doors.
Almost 100 recruits from Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Upper Austria, who are currently completing their general basic training at Jäger Battalion 23 in Bludesch, were sworn in. At the end of their basic training, the Vorarlberg conscripts will be assigned to Jäger Battalion 23 in Bludesch and the Vorarlberg Military Command in Bregenz. The Tyrolean soldiers are transferred to the Tyrolean military command in Innsbruck, while the Upper Austrian soldiers return to Linz/Hörsching. They will continue their military service as drivers, paramedics, mechanics, cooks and guards.
During the winter, the soldiers stationed in the province are also available for all kinds of missions throughout Vorarlberg. They can be deployed as disaster relief workers, in the avalanche response team, for contact tracing in the infection team or for other tasks in the course of the Covid pandemic. Due to the Covid-19 protective measures, it was not possible to invite family and friends of the conscripts to the swearing-in ceremony. All soldiers were lined up at large distances during the ceremony and the pledge of allegiance was recited with mouth and nose protection. Some of the soldiers who were sworn in will remain with Jäger Battalion 23 and complete the cadre candidate training, during which they will be trained as non-commissioned officers in 18 months. They form the foundation of the Vorarlberg professional soldiers and are urgently needed for the many upcoming missions.
