Until Friday, 800 soldiers will train various threat scenarios as part of the large-scale exercise ‘Walgau 2013’. The focus is on combating terrorism and last but not least, interaction with the police is trained.
There has never been as much military equipment in Vorarlberg as there is today. About 150 military vehicles, some of them armored, have been moved to Vorarlberg in recent days and more than 800 soldiers from across Austria have been deployed to the region. The reason for the march is the large-scale exercise ‘Walgau 2023’, in which various threat scenarios will be practiced until Friday, with the focus on combating terrorism.
Although the fight against terrorism is fundamentally within the competence of the police, if this reaches its limits due to an exceptional situation of any kind, the federal army will assist as part of a “security policy assistance operation ”.
First exercise of this format
And so that the right hand also knows what the left hand is doing, it must be trained together in advance. This is happening on this scale for the first time in Walgau; in the future, such large-scale cross-organizational exercises will take place once a year – each time in a different federal state.
The fictional scenario of ‘Walgau 2023’ is a hybrid threat situation in which underground opponents want to cause social destabilization through terror and disinformation. It is assumed that there is an – albeit not entirely realistic – conflict in the area around Graubünden and Liechtenstein. This armed conflict causes a wave of refugees to move north through Vorarlberg. In addition, the enemy is trying to bring the conflict to Vorarlberg, which must be prevented.
Speed of action and smooth communication are crucial in such a confusing, dangerous situation. Therefore, the movement of reaction forces within a short period of time, the processes in the command structures, the protection of critical infrastructure from terrorists and the immediate response to attacks are put into practice. We also train how to deal with armed refugees in transit.
Minister of Defense visiting Ländle
Also on site is Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP), who inaugurated the new helicopter hangar in the Walgau barracks on Monday together with State Governor Markus Wallner. “The current security situation and especially the terrorist attack in Israel show how important the fight against terrorism and terrorist attacks is,” said Tanner, emphasizing the need for such large-scale exercises.
Source: Krone
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