The Austrian army has had a huge part to play in the country’s history. Find out how the army has evolved over the years and the role that it has to play now that the days of war are long gone.
The official English name of the current Austrian army is the Federal army of Austria. This was changed from the previous name of the army which was “People’s Defense” back in 1918-1921. The Austrian army has seen many battles as it was first part of Nazi Germany during 1938-1945 and then it came into its own and even developed a defense plan against the Germans. Due to the fact that the two nations maintained diplomatic relations the plan never came into action.
The responsibilities of the army
The year 1955 saw the Austrians declaring Everlasting Neutrality which meant a change in the constitution as well as the role of the military. The military that was once engaged in brutal combat was now more of a security force for the protection of Austria’s neutrality. The current military has a Land Forces Division along with the Air Force, Mission Support, International Missions, Command Support and the Special Forces as its new structure.
In the post Cold War Era the Austrian army was seen assisting the border police units. Collectively their job was to keep an eye on the illegal immigrants trying to make their way in through the borders. The Austrian army expanded its range of military weaponry when the neighboring regions of Balkans were engaged in war which meant the lifting of the international treaty of 1955 which imposed the restrictions.
The constitutional task of the military has changed over the years. Today the main task of the Austrian army is to maintain and protect the institutions developed by the constitution as well as the democratic freedom of the people. They are also required to play an effective role in the maintenance of peace and security within the country. Furthermore it is the army that is called upon when the country suffers from natural catastrophes and unforeseen disasters of great magnitude.
The makeup of the Austrian Army
The Austrian army is rich in terms of the wide range of equipments that it has. Recent attempts at modernizing the military arsenal have seen investment being made in considerable amounts of money into the army. Some of the newly introduced equipments include the Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Black Hawk utility helicopters, state of the art fighting vehicles and other helicopters as well as combat aircrafts. The complete list of the Austrian army equipment and weaponry is far too extensive to mention in its totality.
The Austrian army has some age old traditions that are still in practice today. Most of these have got to do with the structural divisions and their names as kept in the distant times. Another interesting aspect of the Austrian army is the Commando frogmen division which is part of the Federal Army. This is a group of specially trained commandos that are only called upon for special operations. The frogmen division of the Austrian army is unique and requires extensive training as they are called upon to assist in some of the most dangerous and unorthodox manners.
