Collective Task at the Border

Over the last three months, around 50 Austrian army engineers have provided assistance to the work of Hungarian soldiers and policemen participating in the management of the crisis caused by mass migration. The members of the outgoing rotation took part only in support tasks, they were not assigned border security duties. As part of the HDF Task Force Alföld, they joined the maintenance works of dirt roads that lead to the maneuver roads along the Hungarian–Serbian border as well as the works related to the establishment of border security bases, and also performed transportation tasks. Col. Johannes Humer was the commander of the Austrian soldiers, while Col. László Antal, Commander, HDF 37th Ferenc Rákóczi II Engineer Regiment (Szentes) was responsible for coordinating the joint professional work.

Speaking at the farewell ceremony of the outgoing Austrian contingent, Lt.-Gen. Franz Reißner, Land Force Commander, Austrian Armed Forces called the collective work successful and effective, and thanked the Hungarian army engineers for their help and support. It was revealed that during their tour of duty abroad, the Austrian soldiers performed transportation tasks covering more than 65,000 kilometers, and constructed a three-kilometer long gravel road in the vicinity of Madaras. They would not have had the opportunity to carry out such road construction tasks as part of their training in Austria.

Brig.-Gen. Zoltán Mihócza, Chief of Staff, HDF Joint Force Command said that the assistance of Austrian army engineers will be needed along Hungary’s southern borders in the future too. Their excellent professional work has been a significant contribution to increasing the response capability of the border security forces and to improving their service circumstances. At the same time, the roads built by the Austrians might as well be regarded as dual-use ones, as the people living in the area can also use them.

At the farewell ceremony of the outgoing rotation, General Mihócza said special thanks to liaison officer Maj. Johannes Draxl, and to the most successful soldier, PV2 Wilhelm Taufner for their work. The members of the third rotation of the Austrian engineer contingent arrived in Hódmezővásárhely a couple of days ago, and will start working along the southern border next week. Their commander is Col. Günter Deutsch.

Photos by the author