Honoured readers,
The statement of operations outlines the performance of the Austrian Armed Forces in their domestic and international operations in the last year.
In the framework of international operations the Austrian contributions to operations on the Balkans within KFOR and EUFOR/ALTHEA were continued. As a result of the violent clashes in the north of Kosovo starting in the summer of 2011 our forces continued their deployment within the German-Austrian ORF Battalion into 2012. The deployments to the Middle East were hallmarked by the revolts in Syria, where, after long and relatively quiet years with UNDOF, violent clashes broke out at the border to Israel. Since November 2011 a new contingent has been serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon. The Arab Spring and further unrest in North Africa resulted in the deployment of crisis support teams in Egypt and Libya as well as the contribution of C-130 aircraft to the respective evacuation operations. On average, 1,300 soldiers were deployed in up to 19 different missions world-wide, which confirms the commitment of the Austrian Armed Forces to securing and restoring peaceful conditions in international crisis management.
During domestic operations, be that along the borderline in the provinces of Burgenland and Lower Austria or within the framework of disaster relief, it has become ever more apparent that the deployed troops are well-structured in command and supply and, thus, work at their highest level of performance.
Giving a statement on the performance also means that the accomplishments are to be evaluated as to the tasks given in the operations and as to the objectives to be reached. In 2011 the deployed soldiers were confronted with a well known situation, i.e. high-risk threats and a range of tasks, which demanded a high degree of professionalisation.
As the director of the Operations Command and Control Division it is a pleasure for me to commend, and pay tribute to, the deployed soldiers and their performance!
Brigadier General Friedrich Schrötter, Director/Operations C2 Division in MoD