For over 10 years, the Austrian Armed Forces International Centre (AUTINT) has trained OSCE staff before they deployed for high-risk operations across the region under an agreement between the Organization and Austria's Federal Minister of Defence and Sports in 2014. OSCE and AUTINT representatives met on 30 January to mark this decade of co-operation and reaffirm their ongoing collaboration.
"Our co-operation with the Austrian Armed Forces has been vital to strengthening the OSCE's ability to deploy across the region. Training for high-risk environments has been essential to continue our operations while ensuring our staff's safety, and we look forward to building on our existing relationship," said Kate Fearon, Director of OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre.
Since 2014, the AUTINT has prepared OSCE staff to operate more safely and securely in conflict zones through one-week Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) courses. First aid, mine awareness, map reading, behaviour under-fire and complex risk situations, radio communication and stress management are among the practical skills the courses have offered to build staff members' resilience towards difficult circumstances in the field. The training includes lectures by subject-matter experts and realistic simulations run by field practitioners.
"As the Commander of the Austrian Land Forces and Special Operations Forces, I am deeply proud because this decade of co-operation has demonstrated the strong commitment of both parties to enhance the safety and effectiveness of international missions. As the global security situation remains volatile, both parties look forward to many more years of productive collaboration" said Major General of the Autrian Armed Forces, Martin Dorfer.
AUTINT's courses initially had a main focus on the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, training over a thousand Mission members, and was expanded in 2022 to encompass OSCE staff from across the Organization's field operations, Secretariat and Institutions. Each training now focuses on the needs and challenges of all personnel operating in the field, for instance, a dedicated course recently held for the Mission to Skopje. Two upcoming courses, taking place at the AUTINT premises outside of Vienna, are already scheduled in May and October 2025.
