Handling Alpine Terrain
Von 7. bis 18. August 2023 fand fürdie Fähnriche des Jahrganges "Generaloberst Roth" eine Gebirgsausbildung statt. Mit dabei waren auch elf Offiziersanwärter aus den USA und Kanada. Diese werden noch bis Dezember an der Ausbildung an der Militärakademie teilnehmen. Im Zuge der Gebirgsausbildung mit den österreichischen Fähnrichen sollte der erste Kontakt zum Jahrgang und zur österreichischen Kultur hergestellt werden.
Folgend blickt Cadet Matthew Griffin der United States Military Academy at West Point auf diese beiden Wochen zurück und fasst diese aus der Sicht der kanadischen und amerikanischen Kadetten zusammen.
Us international cadets and midshipman from the United States and Canada participated in the 2-week alpine training to receive basic proficiency in mountaineering and skills necessary for alpine warfare.
The international contingent of the exchange program involved 11 participants hailing from the United States and Canada. Four cadets from the United States Military Academy, one midshipman from the United States Naval Academy, four cadets from the Royal Military Academy – Saint Jean, and two cadets from the Royal Military Academy of Canada.
We joined the Austrian cadets at the Theresian Military academy in their alpine training in early August to understand firsthand the challenges that arise from having to operate in mountain terrain. The basic alpine warfare course covered essential skills and topics ranging from route planning to proper safety methods, equipment use, first aid, mountain rescue basics, rappelling, and mountaineering.
For many of us this was our first exposure to climbing and operating within a mountain environment.
Cadet Brooks Johnson, a third-year cadet at the United States Military Academy took away more than just military skills remarking, “The mountain warfare training introduced me to the beauty of the Austrian lower alps. More than this, I learned employable military skills such as rappelling and climbing with via Ferrata with Canadian and Austrian service members. Since being here in Austria, I’ve not only learned much about military mountaineering, but also about the important cultural and linguistic differences between the United States, Austria, and even Canada.”
For Canadian Cy Hammond, a third-year naval cadet at the Royal Military College of Canada, the training was a great introduction to the other cadets here for the semester. For Hammond, the mountain warfare course was, “…. a challenging but rewarding experience that allowed for us to explore the mountains of Lower Austria. The course also provided an excellent opportunity for the North American cadets to get to know each other as well as meet members of the Austrian cadre.“
We will be studying at the Theresian Military Academy for the semester through the international program and will continue military training and studies in the classroom after the brief introduction to the alpine warfare disciplines of the Austrian Armed Forces.
