UNIFIL mission

Austrians under female command for the first time

Archive image from 2022: Austrian blue helmet soldiers at their farewell ceremony in Götzendorf

(Bild: P. Huber)

Despite the war in Lebanon and the associated threat to the UN mission UNIFIL, the red-white-red contingent is also holding its ground in the country. Now there is also a scheduled rotation: 81 soldiers were ceremoniously bid farewell to Lebanon on Monday at the Götzendorf barracks (Bruck an der Leitha district) by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner. Lieutenant Colonel Maria Eder is the first woman to lead the Austrian contingent.

Tanner pointed out that the new contingent commander also played a major role in the introduction of voluntary basic military service for women more than three decades ago. 71 men and ten women are now starting their service in the crisis area, where they are supposed to ensure that a ceasefire is maintained. However, following the terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel launched a comprehensive military operation against its northern neighbor to stop rocket attacks by the Shiite militia Hezbollah.

Israel is critical of the presence of the 10,000 blue helmets because they are allegedly being misused by Hezbollah as shields. Tanner complained to journalists that there is currently "no improvement in the security situation" in the area of operations. She called on all parties to the conflict to prioritize the protection of the troops.

A UN soldier in Lebanon

(Bild: APA/AFP/ANWAR AMRO)

"New normality" for the troops
"This will certainly not be a sunshine mission," said the Minister, referring to the repeated Israeli attacks on the UN force. There have also been casualties among the Austrian soldiers and the "new normality" for the troops is that they have to spend many hours in the camp.

Like other top representatives of the Austrian Armed Forces, Tanner also emphasized that the Austrian contingent responsible for logistics was the "backbone" of the entire UNIFIL force. Without the Austrian soldiers "nothing works at all", she emphasized. The deployment of the new team is due to be completed on December 9th. Before that, they still have to complete a final exercise. 

Additional tasks for the Austrian contingent
Major General Martin Dorfer, who is responsible for operations abroad, said that the Austrian UNIFIL soldiers have "a full order book". Because local and civilian staff could not enter the camp due to the tense situation, the Austrian army logisticians had to take on additional tasks. The camp fire department is also in the Austrian area of responsibility. "Whenever there is an incident, the Austrians are the first on the scene," said Dorfer.