TMAF 2022

The Theresan Military Academy (TMA) trains the officers for the Austrian Armed Forces. The basic officer training consists of the Career Officer Course as well as the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Bachelor Programme Military Leadership (FH-BaStg MilFü) or the UAS Bachelor Programme Military Information and Communication Technology Leadership (FH-BaStg Mil-IKTFü). TMA therefore has to offer scientifically based professional training at university level. Thereby, those skills must be acquired which graduates need to solve the current as well as future tasks of their profession.

The accreditation of the UAS degree programmes requires that the teaching and research staff carry out applied research and development work. Generated results must be introduced into the scientific discourse through publication as well as in the context of organised conferences. Therefore, the association formed by the National Defence Academy, the TMA and the Army Non-Commissioned Officers Academy for the joint implementation of basic officer training of the Austrian Armed Forces organised this year's Theresan Military Academic Forum (TMAF) from 08th to 11th November 2022. This year, for the first time in a European context, the event was held in English under the title "The ART of Leadership". The topic was the logical consequence of the previous year's forum after this subject had been dealt with only at the national level due to the pandemic. From the applications submitted, the scientific committee selected 18 lecturers from twelve nations of the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA).

The preparation and realisation of TMAF took place in cooperation with the Research Support Association at the TMA, Alma Mater Theresiana. In addition, we cooperated for the first time with the scientific platform, "The Defence Horizon Journal," which publishes articles for the future in the field of security policy, geopolitics and law, conflict and fragility research, military science and its application, as well as defence technology.

The Commandant of the TMA, Major General Karl Pronhagl, opened the forum. Subsequently, the Chairman of the UAS Board, responsible for implementing and organising all teaching and examinations at the UAS in the Federal Ministry of Defence, Univ. Prof. Dr. Dietmar Rössl, addressed the international panel of participants. The presentation of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Harald Gell, MSc MA MSD, concluded this session. Dr. Gell is the head of the European Union's initiative to enable the quantitative and qualitative exchange of knowledge and know-how through the exchange of young officers and teachers, following the Erasmus model. In his presentation, he outlined his research findings on the support of personal development through international exchange programmes and other collaborations.

First, three thematically related speakers presented their work at each session. Afterwards, the lecturers answered questions from the audience. Associate Prof. Tom Simoens from the Royal Military Academy in Belgium opened the first block of events. In his presentation "Combined Arms Warfare", he demonstrated the development and significance of modern land warfare with examples from the current conflict in Ukraine. This was followed by "Data-Driven Decision Making in a Military Environment" by Lieutenant Colonel General Staff (GS) Dr. Alexander Treiblmaier. Dr. Treiblmaier presented the challenges posed by the diversity and complexity of data and information, which military leaders and staffs have to deal with before making decisions due to technological developments and the usually limited time available. This lecture block was concluded with the contribution "Developments of Society and Human Limitations", By Colonel Prof. (UAS) Mag. Horst Stocker, who discussed social developments with their effects on applicants' health and physical performance, and the consequences for the armed forces. After this extensive transfer of information, the speakers answered questions from the interested audience. The moderator of the entire event, Lieutenant Colonel (GS) Mag. (FH) Matthias Wasinger, MOS PhD, concluded with consequences for further action in basic officer training.

The first afternoon of the forum was opened by Colonel (GS) Horst Treiblmaier, MA, from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence. On the one hand, Treiblmaier demonstrated the advantages of promptly providing and using information and intelligence for decision-making by the military operations command. On the other hand, he also highlighted the physical consequences for the equipment and the personnel handling it. Major Gabriela-Florina Nicoara, MA, from the National Defence University in Romania, then presented methods and management tools for recruiting and training future military leaders. The future men and women to be educated are members of Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2010). They need to be prepared for the challenges of the VUCA environment (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) and the impact of technology to command future military generations. Lieutenant Commander Antonio Bufis from the Naval Academy in Italy concluded this thematic block. He discussed military leadership between the metaverse, a digital space created by the interaction of virtual and physical reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning. These very challenging presentations once again formed the basis for a lively discussion.

Dr. Olga Chiriac opened the final session of the forum's first day from the Centre of Strategic Studies in the USA. Dr. Chiriac noted that the successes of the Ukrainian armed forces against the Russian invaders are based on Clausewitz's principles. Accordingly, the military leaders of today and tomorrow have to master the art of linking the government, population, and military through strategic communication to achieve the building of trust, confidence, and credible deterrence. Following this, Captain Robert Pott of the German Armed Forces Air Force School explained the training of military leaders in the dynamic changing VUCA world. The demands to be placed on a future military leader must be considered during training and competence development so that readiness in terms of material, but above all, personnel, can be achieved. The presentation of Alzbeta Budinska, BSc, a student at the Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Stefanik in Slovakia, concluded this intense day. In her presentation, Budinska made the unusual connection between two worlds, art and military leadership. The final discussion at the end of this thematic block concluded the content-heavy first day of the forum.

Recreational activities were mainly aimed at supporting international networking by familiarising the participants with different military cultures. Austrian and international students of the Theresan Military Academy guided the forum’s guests through the exhibition "From the Imperial Residence to the Officers' Forge" to convey the Austrian interpretation of the art of leadership. The tour required students to professionally present their training institution, practice speaking in front of a high-ranking multinational group, and demonstrate their English language skills.

The second day of the forum was opened by the two military academic programme directors, Brigadier General (BG) Andreas Rotheneder for the UAS Master's programme "Military Leadership," and BG Jürgen Wörgötter for the "FH-BaStg MilFü”. Colonel (GS) Sönke Marahrens (German Air Force), currently serving at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Finland, opened the day with his contribution "Leadership 2021+". Col Marahrens concludes that sensor technology for early conflict and crisis detection must be optimised, especially in the spectrum of hybrid threats. He notes that due to misjudgement in Ukraine, a conflict that was initially hybrid has become a conventional war. Afterwards, Mr Klemens Zierler, a Theresan Military Academy alumnus, presented the inclusive strategy development at Rosenbauer International Corporation. This strategy relies on a trust-based relationship between the workforce and the management and trust in the employees' abilities. Broad involvement in the strategy development process is helpful so that everyone in the company understands the business strategy and can implement it. This should help to master future challenges and ensure the company's economic survival.

After the morning break, Lieutenant Colonel Andrzej Truskowski, PhD, from the Air Force University in Poland, presented the necessary qualities, skills and abilities of the future officer. Lt-Col Truskowski notes that this leader must be able to effectively lead soldiers entrusted to him or by assuming responsibility, both in peacetime and especially in a potential future armed conflict. Following this, Dr. Mantas Bileišis from the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy in Lithuania presented the result of several years of development of the Sectoral Qualification Framework for Military Officers of the EU (SQF-MILOF). According to SQF-MILOF, globalisation and increasing European integration positively impact basic officer training curricula, based primarily on national military traditions, institutional career planning, resource pooling, identification of competence gaps and quality assurance. Assoc. Prof. Captain Nedko Dimitrov, PhD, then presented the results of comparing the SQF-MILOF requirements and the national curriculum after implementation at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Bulgaria.

Lieutenant Maciej Wielgosik, MSc MA, from the Military University of Technology in Poland, introduced the last block of lectures. Lt Wielgosik presented both the negative and positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on (future) officer training. The involvement in national crisis management enabled real-world training of Polish Officer Cadets in leadership, management and cooperation with other organisations—these are of vital importance to the excellent educational outcomes for future officers.
Lieutenant Fabio Ibrahim, MA, from the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg, continued with a study of the NATO education programme, specifically the critical thinking course. This study investigated whether critical thinking should be promoted through an intervention of several weeks and implemented in future military training.
The next speaker, Dr. Ülle Säälik, PhD, presented the required personality development at the Military Academy in Estonia. The training aims to promote self-awareness of the role and identity of future officers by clearly communicating and jointly developing expectations of the future role through self-assessment, analysis, reflection and support.
The event's second day concluded with a presentation by Dr. David William Mac Gillavry, PhD, from the University of Defence in the Czech Republic. Dr. Mac Gillavry argued that war crimes such as killing, hostage-taking, torture and rape of civilians and prisoners of war in military conflicts can and must be prevented through the appropriate training of leaders.

After two intensive days with 18 presentations and subsequent discussions, a white paper summarising the contents of the conference was created. This exclusive summary of the TMAF 2022 was prepared in cooperation with all speakers and interested visitors and will be incorporated into the forum publication. Thereby, interested persons will be able to get an overview of the presentations and will be encouraged to read the paper.