Austria - Bundesheer

During the Cold War, Austria followed a strategy of Abhaltestrategie (deterrence or dissuasion), aiming to convince a prospective invader that an attack on or across Austria would be too costly in time, personnel, and equipment. The Austrian version of deterrence flowed from the philosophy of Comprehensive National Defense, also embraced by such other European neutrals as Switzerland, Sweden, and Finland.

After the end of the Cold War and consequently by a change of the threat scenario the total reform of 1991 was anticipated by dissolving the army headquarters and the 1st armored infantry brigade, and by creating the new third corps headquarters. The "Army Structure 92” involved abandoning the territorial defence concept and accordingly dissolving the territorial reserve formations. The territorial regiments were converted into 12 infantry regiments and four staff regiments which were supposed to grow up to 12 infantry brigades by mobilization.

The New Army Structure -- the reorganization plan announced in late 1991 and scheduled to be in place by 1995 -- replaced the previous two-corps structure with one of three corps. The new corps was headquartered at Baden, with responsibility for the two northeastern provinces of Lower Austria and Upper Austria. Army headquarters was eliminated, as was the divisional structure for the three standing brigades. The three corps -- in effect, regional commands -- were directly subordinate to the general troop inspector. The three mechanized brigades would be placed directly under the new Third Corps at Baden, although in the future one brigade may be assigned to each of the three corps. The mobile militia will be reduced from eight to six mechanized brigades. Each of the nine provincial commands will have at least one militia regiment of two to six battalions as well as local defense companies.

Total personnel strength -- both standing forces and reserves -- was to be materially contracted under the new plan. The fully mobilized army was to decline in strength from 200,000 to 120,000. The standing alert force would be reduced from 15,000 to 10,000. Reaction time is to be radically shortened so that part of the standing alert force can be deployed within hours to a crisis zone (for example, one adjacent to the border with Slovenia). A task force ready for immediate deployment was maintained by one of the mechanized brigades on a rotational basis. Separate militia training companies to which all conscripts are assigned will be dismantled; in the future, conscripts will undergo basic training within their mobilization companies. Conscripts in the final stages of their training could supplement the standing forces by being poised for operational deployment at short notice.

By the end of 1993 the ground forces consisted of 46,000 men on active duty, 19,500 of whom were conscripts who serve for six months, followed by sixty days of refresher training with their mobilization units spread over a ten-year period. There were 6,000 men in the air force, 2,400 of whom were conscripts. (These were no women in the Austrian armed forces.) The main active combat units were three mechanized brigades equipped with M-60 main battle tanks and Saurer armored personnel carriers. Two squadrons (twenty-four aircraft) of Draken fighter aircraft acquired from Sweden defend Austrian air space. Including activated reserve infantry brigades and regiments, total mobilized strength was about 200,000, but the mobilization level would decline to 120,000 under the reorganization plan, the New Army Structure, announced in late 1991 and to be completed in 1995.

Further reform steps were taken as soon as the new organisation was put into practice, which developed in a more pronounced form during the "Army Structure 98”. As a result three infantry brigades and two armored infantry brigades were established, one corps headquarters was dissolved, and the organisations of the military regional headquarters with all in all 20 territorial militia battalions to be mobilized were tightened up. The "internationalisation” of the armed forces, which had been started cautiously already in 1960, was carried on by establishing the Austrian International Operations Command as a logical consequence. The necessary size of the armed forces was reduced from 150,000 to 110,000, after mobilization.

Austria’s joining the European Union together with a completely new orientation of the European security policy caused discussions about the military structures in the armed forces as well, which resulted in creating a Defence Staff in 2002, merging the authorities of planning, command and control, and armament. The two corps headquarters were joined in a Land Force Command. Caused by reduction of military service duration to six months and by suspension of military reserves exercises, quickly deployable forces will gain importance in future.

On 24 May 2005, the Council of Ministers decided the future structure of the armed forces in the document "Bundesheer 2010". On June 7, 2005 decision on fundamental issues took place on this basis. This made all political decisions for the implementation of the reform of the Federal Army. The new structure will affect not only the units and commands of the armed forces, but also the Central Office. The "Immediate troops" consist of Command military strife, military police - 2 lead support battalion, - 1 hunting command unit and - 1 international operational base (including CIMIC). Four Brigades include 4 Tank battalions, 4 Hunter battalions, 3 Hunter battalions (mountain beweglich), 1 Hunter battalion (with parts luftbeweglich), 2 mechanized infantry battalions, 2 tank battalions, - 3 reconnaissance artillery battalions, and 3 engineer battalions. The armed forces command is set up at the sites Graz and Salzburg and the mission support command at the location of Vienna. The Brigade commands are garisoned at the sites of Mautern, Linz-Ebelsberg, Klagenfurt and Absam. The military commands remain in the capital cities of Bregenz, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Graz, Linz, Sankt Pölten, Eisenstadt and Vienna.

International operations became a main task for the armed forces of all European countries, and therefore also for the Austrian Armed Forces. The Armed Forces Reform Commission recommended giving the Forces a new, more modern and highly professional shape in order to increase their capabilities for international cooperation, including rapid deployment and operational readiness, but still with a reservist component. As a consequence, the number of operational level commands was reduced from six to two, leaving one Joint Forces Command (JFC) and one Joint Service Support Command. In a first step, in connection with this goal, Austrian short-term military planning aims at deploying some 1,500 troops abroad at the same time. In a second phase, around 2010, Austria should be able to send some 3,500 soldiers abroad.

Austrian Defense Minister Norbert Darabos both supported and compelled a re-orientation of his Ministry's mission. This reorientation starts from two premises. One is that territorial military defense is not now relevant for Austria or western Europe. Thus, heavy and costly structures for territorial defense can be substantially reduced. Second, Austria should, in a multilateral context, be an active participant in European security structures and international missions. In a November 2007 speech to the Attache Corps, Darabos said, "the new orientation of Austrian security policy undoubtedly and above all means Europeanisation. As a middle-sized EU member state we have, in view of the changed security landscape, no alternative to putting our entire security structure in a European context."