Thin Personnel Coverage at Militia Causes Concern for Federal Army Commission
"We repeatedly experience that the militia system fails with many volunteers," said the chairman of the Federal Army Commission, Reinhard Bösch (FPÖ). Therefore, the conscript must be considered as the "customer of the future" in order to recruit the necessary personnel. Last year, there were 195 complaint procedures.
Federal Army Commission emphasizes the importance of the militia
The militia is an "integral part" of the Federal Army and necessary to reach the mobilization number of approximately 55,000, emphasized Bösch. Therefore, "intensive discussions" were held with the militia commissioner Erwin Hameseder last year. The total demand for officers can currently only be met to about 58 percent, and that for non-commissioned officers only to 37 percent. Slight improvements have been brought by the recognition bonus for volunteers, the possibility of voluntary military service for women, and the 6 plus 3 model. Currently, the militia comprises 21,000 permanent soldiers required to participate in exercises and 14,000 temporary soldiers without exercise obligations.
The Federal Army Commission is now looking forward to the results of the expert commission set up by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP), which is to examine by autumn whether the current six-month military service needs to be reformed. Hameseder repeatedly described the abolition of mandatory militia exercises in 2006 as a "serious mistake." The extension of military service is a "societal issue" and must be discussed by the expert group with the involvement of broad social strata, argued commission chairman and ÖVP defense spokesperson Friedrich Ofenauer.
195 complaint procedures in 2024
Last year, the parliamentary Federal Army Commission initiated a total of 195 complaint procedures. Essentially, these related to training and service operations or personnel matters. In addition, nine official examination procedures were conducted to investigate grievances in the military service area. One of the examination procedures concerned the area of home care for conscripts, reported Ofenauer. In cases of illness among conscripts, military doctors must decide whether they are admitted to a military medical facility or released into home care. Here, there is a call to slightly relax the approval practice for home care, said Ofenauer. Another procedure was related to the sexual harassment of two female soldiers by an intoxicated officer at a Christmas party. Further procedures concerned the use of language. Here, there are always outliers that "undermine a quality, contemporary education," argued Ofenauer.
Federal Army Commission observes increase in psychological complaints and illnesses during conscription
Psychological complaints and illnesses have increased in recent years. In particular, there is an increase in depression, sleep, anxiety, and panic disorders, explained chairman Robert Laimer (SPÖ). This is partly due to the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. Despite the increase in psychological diagnoses, the fitness rate has remained the same for decades. In the first half of 2024, around 17,000 conscripts were fit, 287 partially fit, 1,811 temporarily unfit, and around 5,000 unfit. In 2024, around 16,000 recruits began their military service. 250 women took advantage of the "voluntary military service," of which 150 have now joined the troops. The proportion of female soldiers has thus risen to 6 percent.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.