Trotz CoV: Soldaten feiern Party in Kaserne Güssing

Thirty-five soldiers celebrated their graduation on Tuesday at the Güssing barracks despite the coronavirus lockdown. Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against all involved, and four officers have been suspended. Military commander Gernot Gasser expressed his anger, stating that this incident overshadows the achievements of the armed forces. The event was captured on at least three videos. According to the Austrian Armed Forces, the 35 officer candidates from across Austria violated coronavirus regulations and engaged in vulgar behavior. Graduation ceremony prohibited Ninety-three soldiers have been participating in the officer candidate training course 1 at the 19th Jäger Battalion in the Güssing barracks since September. This training, the first step toward a career as a professional soldier, concluded this week. A graduation ceremony was prohibited due to the pandemic. The 35 soldiers defied this ban. Gasser: “Shameful and personally disappointing” The Burgenland military commander, Gernot Gasser, expressed his anger over the incident. “On the one hand, it’s shameful, on the other hand, personally disappointing,” he emphasized on the sidelines of a press conference. While he understands in principle that the participants wanted to celebrate the completion of a training phase – “but not now. We’re in a lockdown, so you have to forgo celebrations,” Gasser said. The Austrian Armed Forces’ image suffers as a result – “It disgusts me” In addition to violating the coronavirus regulations, the officer candidates also behaved “completely inappropriately” with vulgar actions and did tasteless things. The recklessness and carelessness of a few individuals is now causing further damage to the Austrian Armed Forces’ image. “This – excuse my language – disgusts me,” Gasser emphasized. He found it positive that the path to becoming a career soldier had now ended for those officer candidates who played a key role in the incident. Army draws positive annual balance in the COVID year Gasser also expressed his frustration that the incident was diverting attention from the work the army had done last year assisting at the border and combating the coronavirus. Around 200 soldiers are deployed daily in Burgenland for COVID-19 control measures, including contact tracing, border controls, and mass testing. The Austrian Armed Forces' coronavirus safety measures also proved successful, Gasser said, referring to three internal tests conducted in the barracks prior to the general mass testing. "We tested a total of 1,100 soldiers in the Austrian Armed Forces, across the three large barracks. Of course, this was on a voluntary basis, as there is no coercion. We had a participation rate of 60 to 70 percent with zero positive cases," Gasser stated. A maximum of 38 soldiers and civilian employees have tested positive for COVID-19; currently, there are only three active cases. The COVID-19 situation has been and continues to be a major challenge for the Army Training School in Eisenstadt. However, according to Dieter Schadenböck of the Army Training School, they were able to conduct 134 of the 172 planned training courses last year – including some with distance learning. https://burgenland.orf.at/stories/308... https://www.krone.at/2330114 https://www.heute.at/s/skandal-bei-he... Do you order from Amazon? Order through me – it costs you nothing and you help me! https://amzn.to/3tQx3IK https://amzn.to/2RgwRFm https://amzn.to/3ydcLMQ https://amzn.to/3uQUKlI https://amzn.to/3oerm6p All links starting with "amzn.to" are affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of these links, I receive a small commission.