The Austrian Armed Forces in Civil-Military Cooperation and its …othes.univie.ac.at/30660/1/2013-11-21_1248788.pdf · 2013. 12. 2. · Certificate of Participation to BHFA 2012

MASTERARBEIT

Titel der Masterarbeit

„The Austrian Armed Forces in Civil-Military Cooperation and its Experience in Humanitarian Relief and Peace

Support Operations“

Verfasser

Jacques de Vries

angestrebter akademischer Grad

Master (MA)

Wien, 2013

Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 067 805

Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Individuelles Masterstudium: Global Studies – a European Perspective

Betreuerin / Betreuer: ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Friedrich Edelmayer, MAS

MASTERARBEIT / MASTER THESIS

Titel der Masterarbeit /Title of the master thesis

The Austrian Armed Forces in Civil-Military Coopera-tion and its Experience in Humanitarian Relief and

Peace Support Operations

Verfasser /Author

Jacques Jean Pierre de Vries

angestrebter akademischer Grad / acadamic degree aspired

Master (MA)

Wien, 2013

Studienkennzahl : A 067 805

Studienrichtung: Individuelles Masterstudium: Global Studies – a European Perspective

Betreuer/Supervisor: ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Friedrich Edelmayer, MAS

2

Acknowledgement:

I would like to extend appreciation to the organisers and participants of the

Association of Austrian Peacekeepers Blue Helmet Forum Conference in

October 2012 on “Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for

the Military?” for their insights and for the inspiration which contributed

substantially to the realisation of this paper. Great thanks must be offered up

to the Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sport and Austrian Armed Forces

International Center for authorising and facilitating my participation in the

April 2013 Civil-Military Cooperation Course for Peace Support Operations in Graz and

for the key experiences gained on this staff course as a civilian among the

Austrian Armed Forces non-commissioned ranks and officers who were most

friendly and accommodating. Riccardo Skringer, thank you for all that you

have made possible. Many thanks to the helpful staff at the Austrian National

Defence Academy and its library, as well as the assistance of Professor Erwin

Schmidl. To my supervisor Professor Edelmayer for your inspiration and

forbearance, and the fantastic Erasmus Mundus Global Studies Vienna

administration staff, most notably Leopold Kögler and Markus Gatschnegg, I

extend my gratitude for your support and great efforts. You and the people of

Austria have left an indelible impression in me through your support,

hospitality and great spirits.

Finally, I would like to thank family, friends and loved ones in South Africa

and around the world, and most especially to Joanine Nel, who have all

supported and encouraged me through this endeavour.

Non Sibi Sed Patriae Jacques Jean Pierre de Vries

3

Abstract

In the post-Cold War, post-9/11 world, the frequency of intra-state

conflicts and conflict waged by armed internal groups as well as natural

disasters and man-made catastrophes have been on a perceptible

increase. On the international stage, the armed forces of many sovereign

nations are engaged in such environments on peacekeeping, support,

and enforcement as well as relief operations in conjunction with

humanitarian organisations. The competency of Civil-Military

Cooperation (CIMIC) has been embraced by many nations and

deployed in peace operations to promote cooperation and coordination

between civil actors, civilian international governmental, non-

governmental organisations and military forces in addressing issues

which aid in speedy resolution of disputes and restoration of

humanitarian norms. This thesis explores the Austrian Armed Forces

approach to CIMIC, as well as the Austrian methodology both

domestically and internationally in promoting and deploying more

effective CIMIC competencies and discourses.

Key Words:

Civil-Military Cooperation, CIMIC, Austria, Austrian Armed Forces,

Humanitarian Relief, Complex Emergencies.

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Abstrakt

In der Zeit nach dem Kalten Krieg, und den Anschlägen des 11.

Septembers 2001 haben die Häufigkeit von innerstaatlichen Konflikten

und Konflikte mit bewaffneten internen Gruppen sowie

Naturkatastrophen und von Menschen verursachten Katastrophen

spürbaren zugenommen. Auf der internationalen Bühne werden die

Streitkräfte vieler souveräner Nationen in Bereichen der

Friedenssicherung, Unterstützung und Durchsetzung sowie

Hilfsaktionen in Verbindung mit humanitären Organisationen engagiert.

Die Kompetenz der zivil-militärische Zusammenarbeit (CIMIC) wurde

von vielen Völkern übernommen und entfaltet sich in

Friedensoperationen, um die Zusammenarbeit und Koordinierung

zwischen den zivilen Akteuren, zivilen internationalen

Regierungsorganisationen, Nichtregierungsorganisationen und den

Streitkräften bei der Konfliktlösung zu fördern , die bei raschen

Lösungen der Streitigkeiten und der Wiederherstellung von humanitären

Normen behilflich sind. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die

österreichischen Streitkräfte im Zusammenhang mit CIMIC, sowie die

österreichischen Methoden sowohl im Inland als auch international bei

der Förderung und beim Einsatz effizienter CIMIC-Kompetenzen und

Diskurse.

Key Words:

Civil-Military Cooperation, CIMIC, Austria, Austrian Armed Forces,

Humanitarian Relief, Complex Emergencies.

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Table of Contents

Abstract (in English) 3

Abstract (in German) 4 Annexes 7 Abbreviations 8

Chapter 1 10

Introduction 1.1. Study Rationale and Participant Observation Approach 10

Chapter 2 12

Research Methodology 12 2.1. Research Question 12 2.2. Objectives of the Study 12 2.3. Problem Statement, Challenges and Focus 13 2.4. Literature Review 14 2.5. Research Design and Methods 16 2.6. Projected Impact of Proposed Study 17 and Intended Audience

Chapter 3 20

The Post-Cold War Era and the Growth in Civil-Military Cooperation and Civil-Military Coordination 3.1. The Oslo Guidelines of 1994 and Altered Peacekeeping 22 3.2. The Yugoslavian Conflict – A True “Complex 27 Emergency” 3.3. The Emergence of NATO Civil-Military Cooperation or 31

CIMIC and its EU Counterpart 3.4. The Contrast of European Union and United Nations 37

Perspectives on Civil-Military Coordination 3.5. Chapter Conclusion 43

6

Chapter 4 46

A Brief History of Austria’s Peacekeeping Record and its Angle on CIMIC 4.1 Austrian Civil-Military Cooperation and Zivil Militär 46 Zusammenarbeit (ZMZ) 4.2. Constitutional and Legal Mandate of the Austrian 52 Armed Forces which Impact International Operations 4.3. Austria’s Relationship with CCOE Enschede 58 and NATO Partnership for Peace 4.4. Chapter Conclusion 62

Chapter 5 66

Practical Examples of Austrian Civil-Military Cooperation in the Balkans Highlighted by the Austrian Media

5.1. Austrian Civil and Military Actors in Bosnia-Herzegovina 68 and Kosovo: CIMIC at the Core of the Austrian Armed Forces

5.2. CIMIC in Focus: Austrian Bundesheer and Bauern 74 helfen Bauern in Bosnia and Kosovo

5.3. Chapter Conclusion 80

Chapter 6 88

CIMIC Bearing Conferences and Courses: A Hands-On Academic Perspective on Austrian Armed Forces “Classroom” CIMIC 6.1. Blue Helmet Forum 2012: “Humanitarian Assistance in 90

Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military?” - What Response? 6.2. Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military Cooperation 101 Course for Peace Support Operations 2013 6.3. Chapter Conclusion 113

Chapter 7 116

Concluding Remarks 116

Bibliography 120

Annexes 126

About the Author 140

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Annexes ANNEX I 125 Austrian Armed Forces CIMIC Course / Peace Support Operations 2013 Directives ANNEX II Blue Helmet Forum Austria Conference in October 2012 on 129 “Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military?” in Vienna. ANNEX III 130 Certificate of Participation to BHFA 2012 ANNEX IV 131 Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military Cooperation Course / Peace Support Operations held between 08th – 26th April 2013 in Graz, Styria. ANNEX V 132 Certificate of Completion for Austrian Armed Forces CIMIC C / PSO 2013 ANNEX VI 133 Ö1 Mittagsjournal (12:00) - Humanitäre Aktivitäten des österr. Bundesheers im Kosovo. ANNEX VII 114 Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sport – Press Sample Date Accessed – 25 July 2013

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Abbreviations

AAP Association of Austrian Peacekeepers

AU African Union

BHFA Blue Helmet Forum Austria

BZÖ Bündnis Zukunft Österreich

CIMIC Civil-Military Cooperation

CIMIC C / PSO Civil-Military Cooperation Course for

Peace Support Operations

CCOE CIMIC Centre of Excellence – Enschede, The

Netherlands

CMCO Civil-Military Coordination

ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States

EU European Union

FPÖ Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs

ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross and

Red Crescent Societies

IFRC The International Federation of Red

Cross and Red Crescent Societies

IGO International Governmental Organisation

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NCO Non Commissioned Officer

NGO Non-governmental organization

OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of

Humanitarian Affairs

ÖVP Österreichische Volkspartei

PfP Partnership for Peace (NATO affiliate)

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees

9

“War appears as old as mankind, but peace is a modern invention.”

~ Sir Henry Maine, 1822 – 1888.

“Were it not so tragic there would be something comical in the way man

invents machines to kill and injure, then uses his ingenuity to provide

methods of repairing damages caused by his own destructive genius.”

~ Mabel Boardman, Red Cross historian, 1915.

Figure 1: Austrian Armed Forces CIMIC Unit Insignia

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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1. Study Rationale and Participant Observation Approach

As the footprint which humanity leaves on the planet increases, so too

the frequencies of both natural and man-made disasters are on the rise.

Complex Emergencies and Complex Humanitarian Emergencies in

particular, refer to the social, political and economic pressures placed

upon peoples in areas affected by natural disasters as well as conflicts

between peoples over the means of survival within such environments.

This thesis endeavours to address the role which the Austrian

Armed Forces plays as a member of the international community in the

first response capacity in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies around

the world, specifically when utilizing the capability known as Civil-

Military Cooperation, or CIMIC. As the incidence of such crises are

only increasing, and coupled to the fact that resources that are able to be

mobilised are often scarce, the thesis identifies and focuses upon key

historical points pertaining to CIMIC and how the Austrian military

works together with others in their overseas deployments to better civil-

military cooperation and coordination.

The changing dynamics of post-Cold War peace keeping,

support and enforcement operations under the umbrella of the United

11

Nations, have seen the Austrian Armed Forces (and others) embrace

CIMIC in order to improve the co-operation between civilian

governments, IGOs and NGOs, and those organisations’ own

interpretations of CIMIC such as the UN formulated concept of Civil-

Military Coordination (CMCO).

What is of particular importance in this elucidation of Austrian

CIMIC is the centrality of guiding principles such as the Constitution of

the Republic of Austria and corresponding documents of relevance to

the Austrian Armed Forces, and how these influence the government,

its organs and its domestically and internationally deployed military to

act in the way that it does. The Austrian perspective on peacekeeping

and civil-military cooperation are most notable because of the pride with

which the nation and its citizens1 conduct themselves on operations

abroad, and how Austria attempts to cultivate interest and discourse

domestically through international initiatives for the promotion of better

civil-military cooperation.

1 Austrian troops deployed on peacekeeping missions abroad do so voluntarily and only after exhaustive pre-mission evaluation / preparation.

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Chapter 2

Research Methodology

2.1. Research Question

The primary question is how the Austrian Armed Forces engages in Civil-

Military Cooperation and what contributes to its relative successes in its areas of

deployment in international operations? This question is substantially

underlined by the question of how security can best be achieved or regulated so

as to render sustained humanitarian assistance and relief to affected parties until such

a time as local administration can assume control. When approaching the

topic of Civil-Military Cooperation within the context of armed forces

deployed in humanitarian or peace support operations, it is important to

take into consideration the fact that the role of the military is not

primarily humanitarian, and that it is not or should not be the intention

to take over the provision of humanitarian aid even if this impression

has been created. Consequently, at a macro level, the query should be

what armed forces (such as the Austrian Bundesheer) are doing to re-evaluate

and regulate the alternatives for civilian-military co-operation and the improvement of

the relationship between the two?

2.2. Objectives of the Study

The intention is to highlight the centrality of CIMIC and to focus on

case studies of the successful interaction between Austrian civilian aid

and military security in the provision of humanitarian support, such as

13

the Austrian Bundesheer operations in support of the Austrian non-

governmental organisation “Nachbar in Not” (Neighbour in Need)’s

provision of aid to the conflict stricken Balkans starting in Yugoslavia in

the early 1990s and beyond. Austria’s peacekeeping commitments on the

international stage will be balanced with a highlighting of its government

and armed forces efforts on home soil to promote its deployments as

well as discourse on improving the civil-military relationship during

those overseas ventures.

The Bundesheer’s role in disaster relief and peacekeeping /

peace enforcement operations around the world have been

indispensable, and are underpinned by a mandate for such action written

into the Austrian Constitution. Highlighting the efforts of the Austrian

National Defence Academy and the Blue Helmet Forum Austria and

others in developing new competencies in civil-military co-operation will

be of primary importance.

2.3. Problem Statement, Challenges and Focus

Old conceptions of inter-state warfare are outmoded when contrasted to

the situation today where for the most part conflicts are of the intra-

state nature. Natural disasters take place in fragile states and across

multiple borders where resources and competencies to respond are in

short supply. These conflicts and disasters are frequently composed of

and affect many different actors, groups and combatants, and the need

14

to safely deliver humanitarian relief to civilians in these environments is

a question often posed by aid organisations. Since many such

organisations seek to deliver aid to those afflicted without taking sides

within the surroundings of the conflict, the security situation leaves

them vulnerable to attack and exploitation.

The difficulties experienced in such situations is the co-

ordination and co-operation between governmental and civilian aid

organisations and security forces which CIMIC may assist in aiming for

the stabilisation of the environment, and in such settings it has often

been the case that one or the other partner has acted without regard for

the other, with varying results.

The emphasis here would be to explore how sovereign armed

forces around the world (with this select case study) are preparing

themselves to exert themselves as counterparts with civilian

organisations, and ascertain who is working to improve this relationship

to best respond to upcoming challenges. The ultimate focus of the paper

is to manifest through practical application of theories such as CIMIC

teaching and operations, and how the current state of affairs for the

Austrian Armed Forces CIMIC project is of benefit to others.

2.4. Literature Review

The thesis will draw information from the Austrian Peacekeepers

Association/Blue Helmet Forum Conferences proceedings publications

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covering the two year’s focus points entitled International Disaster Relief

Assistance - What Role for the Military? in 2011 and Humanitarian Assistance

in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military? which the author

attended in 2012 respectively. This is followed up with practical

utilisation of Austrian military CIMIC literature2 document and various

other supporting papers gathered in the process of attending the

Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military Cooperation staff Course for

Peace Support Operations (CIMIC C/PSO) held in Graz, Austria from

08 to 26 April 2013. To fully conceptualise the modus operandi of

Austrian Armed Forces responsibilities and guiding principles, the

Constitution of the Republic of Austria is consulted. This is braced by

support publications by Rietjens and Bollen3, and Peter Feaver.4 These

works are complemented by national and supra-national documents

relevant to the realm of CIMIC such as The Use of Foreign Military and

Civil Defence Assets In Disaster Relief “Oslo Guidelines” of 1992 (Updated

2006, Revised 2007) by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian

Assistance (OCHA), MCDA Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil

Defence (2003 / 2004).

2 Merkblatt für das Bundesheer – Das CIMIC-Element Technical handbook of the Austrian Armed Forces CIMIC staff deployed on missions abroad for the purpose of Civil-Military Cooperation. 3 Managing Civil-Military Cooperation: A 24/7 Joint Effort for Stability (2008). 4 Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight and Civil-Military Relations (2003)

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2.5. Research Design and Methods

The examination will rely upon a substantial literature reserve based on

papers which have been written on the subject in the period 1990 until

the present day, though the bulk of the literature on emerging Complex

Humanitarian Emergencies and Disaster response will hail from the

2000s. To this end, the means at the disposal of the Austrian Armed

Forces International Centre (AUTINT) and its CIMIC Unit Austria

based in Graz in Styria, Austria will prove indispensable due to the

competencies they promote for Austria in CIMIC, and also for the

European Union (EU). These have been in support of missions between

military components of EU led Crisis Management Operations and civil

actors outside of the EU such as local authorities, international, national

and non-governmental organisations and agencies.

The research design will be calculated based upon the analysis of

discourse literature as well as Austrian domestic news media

publications covering civil-military cooperation efforts in Bosnia-

Herzegovina and Kosovo, as well as author participant observation with

representatives from the Austrian civil-military realm that assists in

pointing out the desired trajectory for improving co-operation and co-

ordination.

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2.6. Projected Impact of Proposed Study and Intended Audience

Attending the Blue Helmet Forum 2012 Conference of the Austrian

National Defence Academy, with the conference themed Humanitarian

Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military?, this author

had the opportunity to observe first-hand the debate commenced by

delegate, Chief of Staff of the Economic Community of West African

States (ECOWAS) Standby Force Brigadier General Hassan Lai, who

laid out his African continent perspective on Complex Emergencies,

stating that based on human and environmental and environmental

threats found in global transnational terror, climate change and political

instability, the principles of the humanitarian imperative and the

involvement of the local stakeholders in any external interventions are

key. At the time, the unfolding crisis in Mali presented a complex

emergency for displaced persons and refugees flowing from that

country, and provoked serious debate on the international stage at the

possibilities of military and humanitarian intervention to mitigate the

crisis situation unfolding there. At this conference, the discussion on

what the role of the military in humanitarian and peace support

operations was conducted in the hope of clarifying and finding newer

innovative means to have the armed forces cooperatively participate

with humanitarian organisations guided by the United Nations principles

of humanity, neutrality and impartiality.

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For the European national and EU partnership military and

civilian delegates participating in this conference, this was a valuable

opportunity to observe action in civil-military reaction to humanitarian

and complex emergency crises from beyond their area of expertise and

experience. The paper will feature the representative dynamic of

Austrian experiences in peace support operations and host to

international debates in the area of improving civil-military relationships,

specifically in the field of Civil-Military Cooperation, and combining the

observations of discourse and experience of Austrian conferences and

Armed Forces course in this field. Furthermore, through an analysis of

case studies of Austrian military-NGO interaction published in the

Austrian national press media, seeks to emphasise the unique role which

Austria plays in strengthening the Civil-Military Cooperation discourse

in a world ever troubled by natural disasters and complex emergencies.

As will be highlighted through elucidation of author practical participant

observations during the Bundesheer CIMIC C/PSO course, the

opportunity to learn from ones ‘counterpart’ will be of great value.

Taking best practice publications as well as critical commentary

with regards to civil-military cooperation, the paper’s desired outcome

would be in identifying CIMIC best practice and how it is

operationalized and continuously improved in the Austrian context.

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Chapter 3 The Post-Cold War Era and the Growth in Civil-Military Cooperation and Civil-Military Coordination In the wake of the end of the Cold War, the spectre of the possibility of

large scale, conventional inter-state conflict fell largely away. During the

early 1990s the international community would become increasingly

familiar with the reports of more unconventional forms of conflict

which were, and continue to be difficult for many citizens of developed

countries to comprehend. In the decade after the Cold War, the 1993

events in Somalia highlighted by the “Black Hawk Down” incident and

the pull out of United States troops by its president Bill Clinton due to

US losses during Operation “Restore Hope” were a severe challenge to

the implied strength of the US military.5 The unmitigated humanitarian

disaster of the Rwanda Genocide of 1994 and the failure of United

Nations peacekeepers to stem the tide of the killings there likewise

called into question the relevance and efficacy of that International

Governmental Organisation.6 In the context of the crisis in the Balkans

with the Yugoslavian Civil War and the breaking up of the Yugoslav

Socialist Republic, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

response and intervention into this region brought an initial cessation to

5 For the book accenting the Black Hawk Down debacle in Mogadishu Somalia see Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down: A History of Modern Warfare. Penguin, New York, 1999. 6 See Roméo Dallaire’s Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Da Cabo Press. 2004.

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the conflict with the signing of the Dayton Accords in 1995 by the

Clinton Administration. In the aftermath of that conflict, peacekeeping

and peace support operations have been in effect, sustained by troop

and humanitarian contributions by NATO, the UN and EU nations.

It is important to take into consideration that the changed world

order after the Cold War imposed an acute challenge to the manner in

which member states of the UN and the international community in

general responded to humanitarian crises that took place within the

context of civil wars and internal conflicts. In this time, it became

apparent that guidelines were necessary for the legal regulation of

military and humanitarian interventions into crisis regions in the world.

From 1990 to 1995, with the high profile interventions of the Gulf War,

Somalia and the catastrophe in Rwanda, led to consensus initiatives such

as the “Oslo Guidlines for The Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets

In Disaster Relief”7 launched in 1992 and events such as the University

of Oxford hosted 1995 conference entitled “The Role of the Military in

Humanitarian Emergencies”.8 These efforts at legislation and dialogue

highlighted key points and clarified upon definitions that would become

more recognisable today.

7 In the immediate post-Cold War world, new challenges for relief organisations and soveriegn armed forces alike can be seen here to jostle for a new and clearly defined niche in which they can contribute to the provision of aid, safety and security. 8 The hosting of such a conference at the halfway mark of the post-Cold War decade shows the concern created by the collapse of former Cold War heirarchies.

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3.1. The Oslo Guidelines of 1994 and Altered Peacekeeping

The conflict in Yugoslavia that led to the eventual NATO intervention

in 1999, can be seen as an ideal point of departure for the development

of what many in the post-Cold War decade saw as the rise to

prominence of “peacekeeping”. Following the cessation of the bi-polar

rivalry of East versus West, militaries can be said to have been given a

big challenge to justify their continued existence and budgets. According

to Alistair Finlan, the relative rise of “peacekeeping” to international

prominence in the nineties was a misnomer, that it was simply an

evolution of the somewhat obscure origins of the term as devised and

applied by the United Nations during the Cold War.9 Peacekeeping was,

is by Finlan’s words “the response by the international community to

ensure that proxy wars and rivalry between the two superpowers, usually

in developing countries to the point of World War Three.”10 In such

conflicts, whether of an inter-state or intra-state nature, the international

media is and has been in a unique position through the utilisation of

modern communications technology able to broadcast the impact of

these conflicts and humanitarian emergencies on civilians to the

international stage. This without a doubt led to the establishment of the

9 Finlan, A.: Essential Histories: The Collapse of Yugoslavia - 1991 – 1999. Osprey Publishing, Oxford. 2004. p. 18.. 10 Ibid.

23

Oslo Guidelines process in 1992 which would culminate in the signing

of the document regulating the use of military and civil defence assets in

disaster relief.

The Oslo Guidelines were adopted in 1994 delineating the use

of military civil defence assets in disaster relief operations as non-

binding for the member states, providing a model legal framework for

application it the event of natural, technological and environmental

disasters in peacetime. This document was envisaged to guide member

states in rendering their assistance to a stable sovereign state and / or its

government.11 This document would go on to be amended in the period

2006 to 2007 with the revision of the title to include the word “Foreign”

to read “The Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets In

Disaster Relief - “Oslo Guidelines” ” as well as the exact definition of

the Guideline paragraph 5 term “Last Resort”, which defines the use of

military assets in disaster relief to be called upon when no other

alternative is available or viable.12

11 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.: Guidelines on The Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief - Oslo Guidelines. November 2006, Revision November 2007. p. 1. 12 Ibid. p. 4. Last Resort: Military and civil defence assets should be seen as a tool complementing existing relief mechanisms in order to provide specific support to specific requirements, in response to the acknowledged "humanitarian gap" between the disaster needs that the relief community is being asked to satisfy and the resources available to meet them. Therefore, foreign military and civil defence assets should be requested only where there is no comparable civilian alternative and only the use of military or civil defence assets can meet a critical humanitarian need. The military or civil defence asset must therefore be unique in capability and availability. However, foreign civil protection assets, when civilian in nature and respecting humanitarian

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Efforts commenced in 1992 to shape what would become the

Oslo Guidelines, and culminated in the international conference held in

Oslo, Norway in January 1994 with its proceeds published in May of

that year. This can be seen as a pioneering example of very high level

attempts at establishing steering principles for the coordination and

cooperation between civilian actors and their military counterparts.

Among the myriad actors and organisations involved in the formulation

of the nascent Oslo Guidelines, the most notable of which beg special

mention. These are:

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya,

the Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Switzerland, United Kingdom

of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Austrian

Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU), Brown University's Watson Institute,

Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA, now the Office for the

Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OCHA), European Union/ECHO,

ICDO, ICRC, IFRC, INSARAG, NATO, Steering Committee for

Humanitarian Response, UNHCR, UN Legal Liaison Office, University of

principles, can provide an important direct and indirect contribution to humanitarian actions based on humanitarian needs assessments and their possible advantages in terms of speed, specialisation, efficiency and effectiveness, especially in the early phase of relief response. The use of civil protection assets should be needs driven, complementary to and coherent with humanitarian aid operations, respecting the overall coordinating role of the UN.

25

Naples, University of Ruhr, WHO and Western European Union. Over 180

delegates from 45 States and 25 organizations attended the conference.13

Myriame Bollen points out the fact that the Oslo Guidelines

emphasise the fact that the use of military assets to assist in the

humanitarian sphere are to supplement rather than supplant traditional

humanitarian agencies in their efforts.14 Bollen goes on to state that the

military has three roles which it can play within context of the Oslo

Guidelines:

First, the military can work to foster a protective framework of

overall stability within which civilian populations are protected and

humanitarian activities are carried out. Second, the military can support

the humanitarian organizations with logistics, personnel, engineering,

and security. Third, the military can carry out relief activities on their

own initiative. 15

When the Oslo Guidelines were renewed on 27 November 2006

by the United Nation under the auspices of OCHA and the Norwegian

Foreign Ministry, OCHA praised the sterling efforts of civilian aid

organisations and the armed forces of countless nations in their

13 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.: Guielines on The Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief - Oslo Guidelines. November 2006, Revision November 2007. p. 1. 14 Bollen, M.: Refugees in Albania: A Case of Civil-Military Cooperation. In Rietjens, S.J.H. and Bollen, M.T.I.B.: Managing Civil-Military Cooperation - A 24/7 Joint Effort for Stability. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Aldershot. 2008. p. 58. 15 Bollen, M.: Refugees in Albania: A Case of Civil-Military Cooperation. 2008. p. 58.

26

response among others to the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December

2004, and the Pakistani earthquake of 2005.16 In the case of the Indian

Ocean Tsunami of 2005, OCHA highlighted the fact that 35 countries

contributed military or civil defence assets of one kind or another to

assist in relief and recovery operations in the aftermath of the tsunami.

Among the contributions made by those nations, military assets included

seventy five helicopters, forty one major ships, forty three aircraft and

approximately thirty thousand troops. The United Nations and OCHA,

while lauding this much needed contribution, stressed in their concern at

the challenges imposed upon the host nation and participants in

coordinating such a massive coming together of help. 17 In the UN press

release following the unveiling of the renewed Oslo Accord, point out

that there was a discernible shift in the way nations mobilised their

armed forces for assistance on the international stage, that:

“Member States, even those who do not give a primary role to

their military forces in domestic response, are now using their military

capacity for relief operations on a global basis. These resources range

from traditional medical and engineering support to often-needed

aviation capabilities used to speed assistance to the stricken

population.”18

16 Bollen, M.: Refugees in Albania: A Case of Civil-Military Cooperation. 2008. p. 58. 17 UN News Centre. UN updates guidelines for international military aid in disaster relief operations. 27 November 2006.Available online at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20733#.UkrH-NKw2wg Date Accessed: 30 July 2013. 18 Ibid.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20733#.UkrH-NKw2wg

27

Initiatives such as the Oslo Guidelines were a concerted effort to

create a unified response reaction capability to disaster relief, and has

undoubtedly brought the armed forces of sovereign nations engaged in

relief operations closer to their counterparts in the civilian sector. This

has however not been without incident, and the continuation of debate

as to the exact limit or extent to which militaries are able to extend their

involvement into humanitarian relief, specifically in environments

containing “complex emergencies” begs particular mention.

3.2. The Yugoslavian Conflict – A True “Complex Emergency” The publication proceeds of the Refugee Studies Programme Conference

Report: The Role of the Military in Humanitarian Emergencies facilitated by the

University of Oxford from 29 to 31 October 1995, identified the rise of

a term phrased by an unnamed participant of the conference entitled,

“humanitarian emergency”, where a group of human beings “finds itself

in a vulnerable position of suffering and under great threat.”19 The

conference publication confesses that the term “complex emergency” or

“complex humanitarian emergency” had in the immediate aftermath of

the Cold War already ascended to common usage. In this text, it is

referred to as “civil war, man-made disasters, political chaos, and

19 Refugee Studies Programme.: Refugee Studies Programme Conference Report : The Role of the Military in Humanitarian Emergencies. Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, 29-31 October 1995. p.p. 2, 3.

28

significant struggles for power that accompany and cause the

humanitarian emergency.”20

It is most telling at this very early stage of the rise of military

involvement in relief operations, that a distinction was already being

drawn between “humanitarian emergencies” and “humanitarian

intervention”, and that the two were not to be confused. As with the

introduction of the word “foreign” to the title of the amended Oslo

Accord in 2007, delegates to the Refugee Studies Programme stressed

the limitations or justifications of “intervention” under international law

as “'The intervention in a country with military forces, without the

consent of the government of that country, for the purpose of

protecting and providing assistance to the country's citizens.”21 In the

former Yugoslavia, the civil and military interventions to protect the

people living would be anything but simple.

The situation in the former Yugoslavia before foreign military

and humanitarian intervention can only be described as dire. In this, the

humanitarian challenges imposed by the ethnic cleansing and conflict

between the Serb, Croats and Bosniacs and the total disruption brought

about by the destruction of the economic infrastructure that provided

20 Refugee Studies Programme.: Refugee Studies Programme Conference Report : The Role of the Military in Humanitarian Emergencies. Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, 29-31 October 1995. p.p. 2, 3. 21 Ibid.

29

employment and revenue to the newly created sovereign states created

many problems which continue to this day. The mass murder, and

genocides such as those at Srebrenica, committed during the breakup of

Yugoslavia would pull in the involvement of the North Atlantic Treaty

Organisation in a series of military interventions and bombings in a

region that was already ravaged by internal fighting.

Before the signing of the Dayton Agreement in Paris, hundreds

of thousands of people had been killed and some two million more

became internally displaced persons or refugees in neighbouring

countries. During this time, member nations of NATO and the

European Union deployed elements of their armed forces to the region

in question in support of operations such as UNPROFOR, the United

Nations Protection Force. During this deployment in aid of embattled

civilians, many of these participant nations found themselves

constrained as in Rwanda to forestall the violence against civilians.

Ankersen points out that “In the former Yugoslavia,

humanitarian efforts themselves served as “substitutes for effective

decisions by governments and the international community to end the

warfare and unconscionable violence.” 22 He also states that within this

tenuous situation of compromised decision-making so as to save lives,

22 Ankersen, C (Ed).: Civil–Military Cooperation in Post-Conflict Operations - Emerging Theory and Practice. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2008. p. xiv.

30

many nations participating militarily in the 1999 NATO Kosovo

intervention was a difficult decision despite challenges, and militarily

“played an important surge protection function at a time when

humanitarian organizations themselves were overwhelmed.”23 It can be

argued, using such evidence, that while military interventions in cases of

humanitarian crises or in peace support operations where humanitarian

organisations are perhaps marginalised by military forces, the utility of

pressure relief and logistical assistance brought by the military side of

humanitarian help is to be valued and encouraged. This has and can be

better accomplished today through greater emphasis on civil-military

cooperation and coordination competencies even before conflicts and

complex emergencies arise.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation took many of the

experiences in Bosnia and Kosovo into consideration when fashioning

what would eventually become its Joint Allied Doctrine for Civil-

Military Cooperation. As in the Balkan conflict of the 1990s, NATO

learned full well that their forces would be confronted by actors from

diverse angles, and that they would have to interact with them in

innovative ways.

23 Ankersen, C(Ed).: Civil–Military Cooperation in Post-Conflict Operations - Emerging Theory and Practice. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2008. p. xiv.

31

Coming into contact with armed factions who have little or no

regard for the military rules of engagement or international humanitarian

law likewise also imposed steep challenges to NATO, UN and

humanitarian operations in aid of civilians. In the aforementioned

document’s section entitled “Evolving Character of Operations”,

NATO recognises the conducting of operations where “the people in

the streets and houses and fields – all the people anywhere – are the

battlefield” and that that in order for the organisation to better structure

the execution of its military operations in such an environment, there

needs be a “detailed understanding of the situation, its human context,

and other agencies that could help to achieve a desired outcome.”24 This

civil-military cooperation conscious approach can be applied in a

conflict situation, but is best rolled out in a post-conflict environment,

and will be elaborated on in the following section.

3.3. The Emergence of NATO Civil-Military Cooperation or CIMIC and its EU Counterpart

Thijs Zaalberg references Thomas Mockaitis in his rather colourful

description of CIMIC as “Defining CIMIC is like nailing jello to a wall”,

a comment delivered at the CIMIC and Counter-Terrorism Seminar

held at the CIMIC Centre of Excellence at Enschede in the Netherlands

24 North Atlantic Treaty Organization.: Allied Joint Doctrine for Civil-Military Cooperation. Edition A Version 1 - AJP-3.4.9. Nato Standardization Agency, February 2013. p. 22.

32

in 2005.25 This description is rather apt, and perhaps just as difficult a

concept to describe as exactly what a “complex emergency” is

depending on the perspective of the analyst. The first concerted effort

by NATO and its partners to roll out a civil-military cooperation

capability was pushed forward in the wake of the signing of the Dayton

Accords. Dedicated teams of NATO troops trained in the realm of

fostering better liaison between civil and military actors in a conflict or

post conflict peace support operation were imbedded into the NATO

Balkan Implementation Force (IFOR), and from there, a facility

committed to CIMIC doctrinal refining was established at Enschede in

the Netherlands, as well as numerous national CIMIC schools in the

armed forces of NATO and around the world.

Ankersen opines through research in the field of civil-military

cooperation, that the “future role of the military in the humanitarian

arena as exceptional rather than routine”, and “the military be granted a

“recognized niche in the humanitarian architecture of the future but be

activated only in rare instances.”26 He also highlights some crucial

points, namely that there is little consensus as to exactly what CIMIC is.

This is reinforced by the fact that numerous member stated of NATO

25 Zaalberg, T. B.: The Historical Origins of Civil-Military Cooperation. in Reitjens and Bollen, 2008, p. 5. 26 Ankersen, C (Ed).: Civil–Military Cooperation in Post-Conflict Operations - Emerging Theory and Practice. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2008. p. xiv.

33

have their own CIMIC schools teaching variations on the central theme

of CIMIC, which will soon be elaborated on in more detail. This

adversely affects unity of effort in NATO alliance deployments since the

variations on the theme create a lack of consensus and reception, since if

NATO partner contributors to a particular peace support mission act

differently, they are perceived differently by aid organisations, the

national and international media, armed factions and the local

population. 27

The broad spectrum of environments in which armed forces and

humanitarian organisations find themselves contribute just as diversely

to the type of interactions which these actors have in these

environments. To better understand this for future operations, NATO

compiled its Allied Joint Doctrine for Civil-Military Cooperation, which

was commissioned in 1997 as a ministerial guidance and published in

1998.28 This document was last updated in February 2013, as Edition A

Version 1 - AJP-3.4.9.

The aforementioned NATO document lays out the

organisations core conceptualisation of what CIMIC is, as:

27 Ankersen, C (Ed).: Civil–Military Cooperation in Post-Conflict Operations - Emerging Theory and Practice. 2008. p. 2. 28 Bollen, M.: Refugees in Albania: A Case of Civil-Military Cooperation. In Rietjens, S.J.H. and Bollen, M.T.I.B.: Managing Civil-Military Cooperation - A 24/7 Joint Effort for Stability. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Aldershot. 2008. p. 16.

34

Civil-military Cooperation (CIMIC)

“The coordination and cooperation, in support of the mission,

between the NATO Commander and civil actors, including national

population and local authorities, as well as international, national and

non-governmental organizations and agencies. (AAP-6)” 29

One must be reminded that this guise of CIMIC is devised by a

military body, with military objectives and interests in mind.

Consequently, the conditions which NATO place on the application of

CIMIC activities in the humanitarian area of operation emphasises the

primacy of the military mission of security provision for all and then the

humanitarian mission through the following four factors, namely that:

1. CIMIC staffs are fully integrated into the commander’s headquarters

(HQ), have full vision of and are authorised to coordinate CIMIC activities and

projects in the joint operations area (JOA).

2. CIMIC activities form an integral part of the joint force commander’s

plan, contribute to his mission and are related to implementing the overall

strategy and contribution to achieving a stable and sustainable end state.

3. NATO forces will seek to accommodate and support the activities of

civil actors in achieving the agreed, shared end state.

29 North Atlantic Treaty Organization.: Allied Joint Doctrine for Civil-Military Cooperation. Edition A Version 1 - AJP-3.4.9. Nato Standardization Agency, February 2013. p. 29.

35

4. CIMIC activities, as projects or other development activities are

conducted with the purpose of transitioning responsibilities to the appropriate

civil organizations or local authorities in a timely manner.30

From the civilian perspective, these precepts justifiably seem quite

bewildering and difficult to approach, since there is an undertone that

can be construed that civilian actors are inferior or subordinate to the

NATO presence and its interests. The complex emergencies in which

humanitarian organisations and peacekeeping militaries find themselves

present a myriad of concerns which each think is paramount. The fusion

and often overlapping of military security provision and humanitarian

strategies has seen the roles performed by the military and non-

governmental organisations overlapping, and in the process contradict

or deviate from prescribed United Nations guidelines or Security

Council Resolutions.31

For NATO militaries and civilian aid organisations in a complex

emergency environment, it is a known issue that civilian actors are not a

homogenous, identifiable group with which to easily make tactile

contact and cooperate with. Michael Pugh’s sentiment highlighting the

key obstacle of “sheer fragmentation of actors, activities and perceptions

in the civilian sector” is pointed out by Haugevik and Carvalho as one of

30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization.: Allied Joint Doctrine for Civil-Military Cooperation. Edition A Version 1 - AJP-3.4.9. Nato Standardization Agency, February 2013. p. 29. 31 Carey, H.F., Richmond, O.P. (eds): Mitigating Conflict - The Role of NGOs. Frank Cass, London. 2003. p. 27.

36

the most difficult factors for forces such as NATO to deal with when in

the CIMIC mode of operations.32 They continue by pointing out that

NATO distinguishes between three primary types of civilian

organisation: International Organisations (IGOs) such as inter

governmentally founded organisations such as the various UN agencies,

the civilian branches of the EU, and the Organisation for Security and

Cooperation in Europe, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) such

as Médicins sans Frontières (MSF), The Red Cross, Save the Children,

and Amnesty International, and international and national government

donor agencies such as European Community Humanitarian Office

(ECHO) and United States Agency for International Development

(USAID).33

Taking the primary NATO and military perspective of security

into consideration, Haugevik and Carvalho make the important aspect

which challenges adequate civil-military cooperation, as the “lack of

knowledge about one another’s security concerns.” 34

Humanitarian organisations often operate in environments

where they are liable to become targets for exploitation or attack by

32 Haugevik, K. M., de Carvalho., B.: Civil-Military Cooperation in Multinational and Interagency Operations. Discussion Paper on Operational Terminologies and Assessment for Multinational Experiment 5 [MNE5]. Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo. 2007. p. 7. 33 Haugevik, K. M., de Carvalho., B.: Civil-Military Cooperation in Multinational and Interagency Operations. 2007. p. 8. 34 Ibid.

37

armed groups, they are often compelled to seek cooperative

relationships with peace enforcement or peacekeeping forces deployed

in their area. The authors quote the 2006 annual report of Médicins sans

Frontières, which attests that “targeted attacks against aid workers

including MSF staff, make land travel and logistical assistance close to

impossible.”35 But, as will be highlighted in a coming section on United

Nations and European Union Civil-military Coordination guidelines for

humanitarian assistance in complex emergencies, IGO and NGO

cooperation with military forces is seen as harmful to the perception of

impartiality that the aforementioned organisations wish to show to

communities and actors in their areas of humanitarian activity. This is

something that NATO and other militaries with deployed CIMIC

practitioners also need to take into consideration, and inversely by

civilian aid organisations who should know the limitations of the

perception of impartiality by the various actors and combatants.

3.4. The Contrast of European Union and United Nations

perspectives on Civil-Military Coordination The United Nations seek to make a clear differentiation between CIMIC

and its own conceptualisation of interactions between civil and military

actors in complex emergencies. United Nations Civil-Military

35 Haugevik, K. M., de Carvalho, B.: Civil-Military Cooperation in Multinational and Interagency Operations. 2007. p. 8.

38

Coordination, or UN Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (UN-

CMCoord) is defined by the organisation in both the 2007 Oslo

Guidelines revision and the UN Civil-Military Guidelines and Reference

for Complex Emergencies handbook of 2008 as:

UN Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (UN-CMCoord):

The essential dialogue and interaction between civilian and military

actors in humanitarian emergencies that is necessary to protect and

promote humanitarian principles, avoid competition, minimize

inconsistency, and when appropriate pursue common goals. Basic

strategies range from coexistence to cooperation. Coordination is a

shared responsibility facilitated by liaison and common training.36

This attitude, makes a clear impression that the interests of those

who are in need help is of paramount importance, and that interaction

with the military is always possible, but always in a way that does not

harm the perception of impartiality or create competition in rendering

aid and duplication of efforts. The Civil-Military Guidelines and

Reference for Complex Emergencies manual goes on to stress to

humanitarian organisations and actors operating under the banner of the

United Nations to Avoid Reliance on the Military. The aforementioned

section, clearly points out what over reliance on the military entails:

36 UN OCHA.: UN Civil-Military Guidelines and Reference for Complex Emergencies. UN Department of Public Information, New York. 2008. p.26.

39

“Humanitarian agencies must avoid becoming dependent on

resources or support provided by the military. Any resources or support

provided by the military should be, at its onset, clearly limited in time

and scale and present an exit strategy element that defines clearly how

the function it undertakes could, in the future, be undertaken by civilian

personnel / means. Resources provided by the military are often only

temporarily available and when higher priority military missions emerge,

such support may be recalled at short notice and without any

substitute.” 37

37 UN OCHA.: UN Civil-Military Guidelines and Reference for Complex Emergencies. UN Department of Public Information, New York. 2008. p. 30.

Figure 2: Military Missions, Political Situations and Advisability of Military Support

40

The United Nations approach to Civil-Military Coordination can

be contrasted to the European Union approach to Civil-Military

Cooperation and Civil-Military Coordination, which are deemed to be

very important, and the complicated criteria with which to measure and

determine cooperation and coordination with the military illustrated in

Figure 2.

Markus Möstl argues that Civil-Military Cooperation poses

considerable challenges for the EU because it directly impacts the

Common Security Defence Policy of the Union. He highlights the fact

that the European Union and its member states have put measures in

place to strengthen common understanding of CMCO to encourage a

“culture of coordination” through standardising crisis management

concept templates, facilitating joint military training and exercises

involving CMCO partners, as well as the coordination of these efforts at

an institutional level in Brussels.38 It is stressed in his analysis of EU

CMCO, that CIMIC is an imbedded component of EU CMCO, and in

stressing the difference in the two concepts from the EU perspective

that:

“CIMIC is about the coordination and cooperation at all levels –

“between military components of EU-led military operations and civil

38 Möstl, M.: Civil-military Coordination in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union. in Human Security Perspectives 1/2011. Focus: Sustainable Peacebuilding. p. 32.

41

actors external to the EU, including the local population and authorities,

as well as international, national and nongovernmental organisations and

agencies - in support of the achievement of the military mission along

with all other military functions.”39

Möstl emphasised the point that in 2008 the Council of the EU

adopted a revised CIMIC concept which delineated CIMIC functions as

civil-military liaison, support to the civilian environment and support to

the military force.40 The EU sees CIMIC and CMCO as intertwined, and

that the two concepts have a low level tactical aspect, as in CIMIC, and

at a higher political, strategic organisational level, as seen in the

illustration furnished by the Austrian National Defence Academy

Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management in Figure 3. 41

Figure 3: Austrian Armed Forces International Center (AUTINT) Unit Logo

39 Möstl, M.: Civil-military Coordination in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union. in Human Security Perspectives 1/2011. Focus: Sustainable Peacebuilding. p.32. 40 Ibid. p. 33. 41 Gebhard, Carmen.: Civil-Military Coordination and Cooperation in the Context of the EU’s Crisis Management - CMCO versus CIMIC Conceptual and Terminological Clarifications. Info Aktuel - L 01/2008. Vienna, March 2008. p. 7.

42

What provides an interesting food for thought, is the multiple

levels of interpretation which both humanitarian organisers and military

commanders must make on the ground in terms of how to work

together, and how to effectively implement the guidelines that their

respective organisations impose upon them. From the military

perspective, some NATO member states are members of the EU, but all

EU states at some level embrace CMCO and the CIMIC pattern which

Figure 4: Differences in EU-CIMIC and EU-CMCO at various levels

43

is part of it. How some EU member states in this situation, such as the

Republic of Austria, implement a NATO concept such as CIMIC in the

history of its peace support operations in the Balkans and elsewhere, will

shed more light on the efficacy of the CIMIC concept both at the

tactical and strategic level.

3.5. Chapter Conclusion

As pointed out by Mockaitis, just as it is difficult to nail the jello that is

CIMIC “to the wall” 42, so too it is difficult to describe the consistency

of the aforementioned concept considering its evolutionary path in the

dynamic years of the 1990s and beyond. The innumerable military

versions of CIMIC deployed on overseas peace and humanitarian

support operations and the ever fluid power relations on the ground in

complex emergencies presented to practitioners favouring the concept

of CMCO serve up a “jello” that is quite wobbly but resilient. CIMIC

itself is a tough concept for humanitarian organisations to cross

considering that those organisations may often see themselves as the

antithesis of all that the military or sovereign armed forces represent.

Within the context of the Balkans conflict and the breakup of the

former Yugoslavia, the multinational armed and humanitarian

42 Thomas Mockatis during the Seminar ‘Cimic and Counter-Terrorism’ (Cimic Centre of Excellence, 15/16 November 2005). Mockaitis is the author of British Counterinsurgency, 1919-1960 (New York 1990) and several other publications on counter-insurgency and peace operations.

44

intervention there endures to this day, and serves as a proving ground

for the armed forces of sovereign nations around the world participating

in United Nations and European Union missions aimed at providing

stability and peace. They do so in concert and partnership with

international, national and non-governmental organisations. This

contributes to the betterment of communities there and regional

stability.

The Republic of Austria has a long history of involvement in the

Balkans stretching back many hundreds of years with the Austro-

Hungarian Empire’s influence there. Since the end of World War II, and

the independence of that nation from foreign interference, that state has

striven to wield a measure of neutrality as well as an exercise of

impartiality and justice on the international stage. It has involved its

armed forces, the Bundesheer, in peacekeeping and peace support from

an early stage of its membership to the UN. The following section will

encompass the groundwork for those factors which influence Austria’s

civil and military methods of behaviour in complex emergencies and

efforts to strengthen the competency.

45

46

Chapter 4

A Brief History of Austria’s Peacekeeping Record and its Angle on CIMIC

Austria has from a very early point been involved in the practice of

rendering military assistance to natural disaster relief and civilian

emergencies. In October 1920, military assistance for disaster relief was

enshrined in Article 79 of the Austrian Constitution, though at that time

the involvement of the military in this fashion was limited to activity

within Austrian territory. 43 This chapter seeks to introduce the Austrian

perspective on Civil-Military Cooperation by highlighting the factors

which influence Austrian armed forces and civilian organisations’

interactions in complex emergency environments, particularly in Bosnia-

Herzegovina and Kosovo. This will be underscored by referencing

evidence derived from the Austrian press media which goes to great

lengths to announce the efforts of this state and initiatives by its citizen

organisations in disaster relief, peace support and civil-military

cooperation. Notable names of Austrian NGOs with experience in

CIMIC such as Nachbar in Not44 and Bauern helfen Bauern45 will be

given some exposure here as their involvement with the Austrian Armed

Forces in the Balkan region is one of long standing and familiarity.

43 Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: International Disaster Relief Assistance – What Role for the Military? Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2011. Vienna, September 21st – 23rd, 2011. Bundesministerium fuer Verteitigung und Sport, Vienna. 2011. p. viii. 44 Neighbour in Need. 45 Farmers helping Farmers.

47

Finally, effort will be made to present the perspectives of the

annual Blue Helmet Forum Austria (BHFA) conference 2012 on the

subject of “Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What

Role for the Military?” whereby international and domestic delegates

from military and humanitarian aid backgrounds attended and discussed

the challenges imposed upon the military today in its involvement in

complex emergencies. As a participant to the conference, the author

experienced first-hand the difficulties inherent in the discourse of “what

role is appropriate for whom” at the conference level. It should be seen

that conferences of this nature, as initiatives of the Austrian government

and armed forces to foster greater dialogue on a pressing topic, should

be considered a form of high level CIMIC and CMCO whose efforts are

valuable in conceptualising doctrine that can benefit practitioners on the

ground.

4.1 Austrian Civil-Military Cooperation and Zivil Militär Zusammenarbeit (ZMZ)

Since the advent of the Second Republic of Austria in 1955, this

sovereign nation has been actively contributing to peace and security on

the international stage. To that end, the Austrian government and

Armed Forces have since 1974 been providing soldiers for service under

the United Nations banner in numerous crisis regions, most notably in

48

the Near East and also in the Balkans. The deployments to Lebanon

(United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon / UNIFIL) and until

recently in the Golan Heights borderlands between Israel and Syria

(United Nations Disengagement Force / UNDOF) have seen thousands

of Austrian troops deployed (as of October 2012 26.000 Austrian citizen

soldiers have voluntarily stationed there.46

In operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, the Austrian contingents

of UN deployments have participated since 1996 with the Peace

Implementation Force (IFOR) and Peace Stabilisation Force (SFOR), as

well as the Kosovo International Security Force (KFOR) since 1999.

These efforts are guided by the principles of the Austrian Constitution

in aid of the Kosovar state towards a more prosperous and peaceful

democratic future.

The Austrian Armed Forces today uses its Ministry of Defence

and Sport handbook entitled “Das CIMIC-Element”47 as a reference

document for use in operational pre-preparation and use in operations

for CIMIC in overseas peace support missions. This handbook was

constituted so as to prepare Austrian troops participating in the

46 Bundesminister für Landesverteidigung und Sport. Unser Heer – Das Magazin des Österreichischen Bundesheeres. Nationalfeiertag Sonderaufgabe. Niererösterreichisches Pressehaus, St Pölten. 2012. . p.26. 47 Bundesministerium fuer Landesverteidigumg und Sport. S92013/18-Vor/2012. Vor Nr. 1004.11. Merkblatt für das Bundesheer. “Das CIMIC-Element”. Wien, May 2012.

49

European Union Battle Group 2012-2 (EUBG 2012-2) where the

Austrian participation in the exercise is to be considered at the military-

diplomatic level to contribute to EU rapid reaction forces, and that it

seeks to participate in its national capacity to strengthen the Common

Defence and Security Policy of the EU.48 The CIMIC Merkblatt

contains foundation guidelines which prepare troops through exercises

both of a classroom and practical nature to represent the Austrian

Armed Forces overseas where they work together with partners in

multinational operations at the tactical as well as headquarters level. It

should be stressed that while Austria is not a member of NATO due to

its steadfast constitutionally grounded history of neutrality, it

government and military is a member of the NATO Partnership for

Peace (PfP) initiative, and as such works closely in conjunction with

NATO wherever the consensus is reached. This partnership is reflected

in the fact that the general contents of the Das CIMIC-Element

document is expressly influenced in the manual itself by the NATO

documents “AJP-9 “Allied Joint Doctrine for Civil-Military

Cooperation”, the “ACO Manual 86-1-1 “CIMIC Techniques, Tactics

48 Langthaler, F, Obst. MSc.: Österreichs Beitrag für die EUBG 2012-2. DER SOLDAT - No. 20/2011 of 19. October 2011.

50

and Procedures” as well as pertinent contents of the “ATP-3.2.”

“Guidance for the Conduct of Tactical Stability Activities and Tasks”.49

In terms of its foundation concepts, CIMIC in the Austrian

interpretation is divided into two realms, where the German terms beg

mention. These are Zivil Militär Zusammenarbeit (ZMZ)50 and Zivil

Militär Zusammenarbeit im Ausland (ZMZ/A).51 ZMZ can take place in

the domestic realm as well as in an international setting to mobilise

action at a strategic level, while ZMZ/A is the phased cooperation with

state and non-state positions where the Austrian Armed Forces is

deployed with humanitarian and disaster relief operations objectives in

mind where crisis-coping measures and development coordination can

be done. Finally, the Austrian definition for CIMIC can be delivered

first in German and then translated as:

Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC)

ist die auf den zivilen / militärischen Auftrag ausgerichtete

Kooperation und Koordination zwischen zivilen Akteuren (locale

Bevölkerung und Verantwortungsträger, international und nationale wie

49 Bundesministerium fuer Landesverteidigumg und Sport. Merkblatt für das Bundesheer. “Das CIMIC-Element”. Wien, Mai 2012. p. 5. 50 Translated from German to English as: “Civil-Military Cooperation”. 51 Translated from German to English as: “Civil-Military Cooperation Abroad”.

51

nichtstaatliche Organisationen und Behörden) und militärischen Kräften

im Rahmen von militärischen Operationen im Ausland.52

As a member of the European Union, and privy to the efforts to

promote CMCO at EU level, it is revealing that the word Coordination

is included in the Austrian definition of CIMIC. Moreover, the core

functions of CIMIC are highlighted so as to make it clear that the

encouragement of a good relationship between civil and military actors

is a method for greater success. The core functions are the Securing of the

civil-military relationship, Support of the civilian environment within the area of

operations and finally Support of the deployed military forces.53 Within the

context of the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, the cooperation of the

Austrian government, its military and domestic humanitarian aid

organisations was of inestimable value and characteristic of the legal

code which guides the administration of government and civil

behaviour.

52 Bundesministerium fuer Landesverteidigumg und Sport. Merkblatt für das Bundesheer. “Das CIMIC-Element”. Wien, Mai 2012. p. 18. Translated into English as: “ is aimed at civilian / military mission cooperation and coordination between civilian actors (locale people and leaders, and national and international non-governmental organizations and public authorities) and military forces in the context of military operations abroad. ” 53 Bundesministerium fuer Landesverteidigumg und Sport. Merkblatt für das Bundesheer. “Das CIMIC-Element”. Wien, Mai 2012. p. 15.

52

4.2. Constitutional and Legal Mandate of the Austrian Armed Forces

which Impact International Operations

When the former Yugoslavia descended into chaos in the early 1990s,

UN deployments to the area to observe the division of conflicting

parties and rendering of support to elements such as the United Nation

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian

organisations, saw the intervention of a strong international presence

from NATO and the Partnership for Peace. In 1995 with the

authorisation of UN Security Council Resolution 1031, for the

intervention of the Peace Implementation Force (IFOR), where articles

5 and 14 are stressed for their importance, that it…

“5. Recognizes that the parties shall cooperate fully with all entities

involved in implementation of the peace settlement, as described in the

Peace Agreement, or which are otherwise authorized by the Security

Council, including the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia,

and that the parties have in particular authorized the multinational force

referred to in paragraph 14 below to take such actions as required,

including the use of necessary force, to ensure compliance with Annex 1-A

of the Peace Agreement;”54 and…

54 United Nations. Security Council Resolution 1031. 15 December 1995. p. 2. Available online at:http://daccess-dds ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N95/405/26/PDF/N9540526.pdf?OpenElement Date Accessed: 30 July 2013.

53

“14. Authorizes the Member States acting through or in

cooperation with the organization referred to in Annex 1-A of the Peace

Agreement to establish a multinational implementation force (IFOR) under

unified command and control in order to fulfil the role specified in Annex

1-A and Annex 2 of the Peace Agreement;”55 (collectively the Paris Peace

Agreement, S/1995/999).

Austria’s involvement in this conflict resolution undertaking was

cemented on 16 January 1996, whereby its Council of Ministers

approved action in conjunction with NATO, and the Federal President

of the time Dr Thomas Klestil quoted saying that:

“We cannot stand to one side when the greatest human tragedy

in Europe in the postwar era is to be overcome. I am sure that the little

Austrian troop to Bosnia will once more display the high training

standard of our peacekeeping soldiers to the eyes of the world.”56

This statement conveys the confidence with which the Austrian

leadership held the quality of its troops and also the lingering memories

of the effects of the last great war to have affected Austria itself. As a

member of the “Partnership for Peace” offshoot association to NATO,

there is an implicit willingness to cooperate in an endeavour that wishes

to deliver on the titular mandate of that partnership. While not only

encouraging civil-military cooperation in the area of projected

55 Ibid. p. 3. 56 Urrisk-Obertynski, R. M.: Ever Ready! The Austrian Armed Forces at Home and Abroad. Weishaupt Publishing, Vienna. 2011. p. 232.

54

operations, the Austrian General Troop Inspectorate put the focus on

the importance of the military-military cooperation that was to come

with a statement after a meeting of the General Chiefs of Staff in the

EU capital of Brussels, with the General Troop Inspectorate quoted

saying:

“The joint deployment of NATO troops and soldiers from PfP

countries has brought the various military structures closer together, The

pressure of the joint deployment of IFOR troops has brought a much

quicker accommodation with regards to “interoperability”, the usage of

comparable terms, maps or computer programs, than was expected.

Only months ago it would have been unimaginable for the highest

military men from countries such as Russia, Albania, Austria and

America to “equally and freely” exchange their views. The Austrian

troops in Austria have earned the highest praise for their deployment in

Bosnia.57

The deployment of Austrian troops to IFOR and its follow up

SFOR had a duration from 14 February 1996 until 14 January 1997 for

the former, and February 1997 until 14 March 2001 with a total troop

contribution of 501 (for IFOR) and 1537 (for SFOR).58

Part of the desire for Austria to contribute to this peace support

initiative can be found in Article 9A subsections 1 and 2 of its

Constitution, which upholds the importance of Austria’s national

57 Urrisk-Obertynski, R. M.: Ever Ready! The Austrian Armed Forces at Home and Abroad. Weishaupt Publishing, Vienna. 2011. p. 232. 58 Ibid. p. 233.

55

defence and the protection of its citizens and the securing of their

democratic freedoms from possible threats beyond the national borders.

59 Furthermore, the military justification for participation in the UN and

NATO endeavour to bring peace and stability to a region on Austria’s

doorstep is also strengthened by Section 4 Article 79 of the Constitution

relating to the Federal Army, most notably its subsection (2), 2. -

“to render assistance in the case of natural catastrophes and disasters of

exceptional magnitude.” 60

By such a time of the IFOR and SFOR interventions in Bosnia and their

influence in the area of the former Yugoslavia, the Oslo Guidelines were

already some years old and the argument can made that the events

unfolding at the time in the Balkans were indeed a “disaster of

exceptional magnitude”.

The Austrian government, as pointed out by the quoted words

of former Federal President Dr Thomas Klestil, is most proud of the

involvement of the Austrian Armed Forces abroad on peace support

59 Article 9A of the Austrian Constitution. p. 2. 1. Austria subscribes to universal national defence. Its task is to preserve the Federal territory's outside independence as well as its inviolability and its unity, especially as regards the maintenance and defence of permanent neutrality. In this connection, too, the constitutional establishments and their capacity to function as well as the democratic freedoms of residents require to be safeguarded and defended against acts or aimed attack from outside. 2. Universal national defence comprises military, intellectual, civil and economic national defence. 60 Article 9A of the Austrian Constitution. p. 2. 32.

56

missions. Consequently, the government makes use of public events

such as the Nationalfeiertag61 celebrations held annually on 26 October

every year in the capital of Vienna. That day and the one proceeding it is

generally utilised as a day to advertise to its public the varied spectrum

of its operations at home and abroad in the realms of peacekeeping and

disaster relief. It is also the occasion to swear in the new group of

national service members who report for their term of military

conscription, which is still mandated in Austria.

The celebration of this holiday in 2012 was also an opportunity

to publicise the Austrian participation in EUBG-2012-2 and the efforts

of the Austrian Armed Forces International Center (AUTINT) in

Austrian Armed Forces professional fields of competency such as

CIMIC.62 The official German language press release for public

consumption on Nationalfeiertag 2012 elucidates the intended sentiment

of the day as an invitation:

61 Translated to English as: National Holiday. 62 Republik Österreich/Bundesminister für Landesverteidigung und Sport. Profis Bringen Sicherheit - Nationalfeiertag 26 October 2013. Leykam Druck GmbH & Co KG, Bickfordstrasse 21, 7201 Neudörfl. 2012. p. 3.

57

“Wir laden Sie ein, den Nationalfeiertag 2012 mit uns gemeinsam als ein

tag der Begegnung zu erleben. Das Österreichische Bundesheer erbringt

seine Leistungen zum Wohle des Landes und im Dienste der

Österreicherinnen und Österreicher.”63

Nationalfeiertag and the run up to it is an annual effort by the Austrian

government and military to do civil-military cooperation of a sort on a

grand, informative public scale, with the chance to showcase their

expertise and experience in competencies such as CIMIC in

“Internationale Einsätze.”64 In attending these celebrations, and coming

into contact with members of AUTINT was an opportunity to hear

from individuals who teach the competency on behalf of the Austrian

Armed Forces, and who have had first-hand practical experience in

actual CIMIC operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and the Chad. The Austrian

military utilises its relationship with NATO and the NATO CIMIC

Centre of Excellence to further leverage their expertise.

63 Repaublik Österreich/Bundesminister für Landesverteidigung und Sport. Profis Bringen Sicherheit - Nationalfeiertag 26 October 2013. Leykam Druck GmbH & Co KG, Bickfordstrasse 21, 7201 Neudörfl. 2012. p. 2. Translated into English as: We invite you to experience the National Holiday of 2012 with us as a day of the encounter. The Austrian Armed Forces provides its services for the benefit of the country and in the service of all Austrians (female and male). 64 Translated into English as: International Operations or Missions

58

4.3. Austria’s Relationship with CCOE Enschede and NATO Partnership for Peace

The Cimic Centre of Excellence in Enschede, the Netherlands, offers a

unique platform for NATO and partner nations to find common

ground upon which to drill CIMIC theories and teaching in aid of

international deployments where civil-military interaction is crucial. The

institution was given official NATO sanction as a NATO accredited

centre of excellence, with the status of an International Military Body,

IAW Article 14 of the Paris Protocol.65 This NATO recognised and

sponsored institution is also open to international organisations such as

the European Union and non-governmental organisations in the civil-

military cooperation realm. The Austrian government, as a non NATO

member of the EU, deems it through consensus with NATO CIMIC

doctrine to position itself according to and familiarise with NATO

CIMIC guidelines. It does so because it deems CIMIC as an essential

part of the Austrian government’s military strategic concept of the

Austrian Armed Forces.

The CCOE in Enschede was established to encourage greater military-

military cooperation (MIMIC) in NATO and partner countries, and as

such the Austrian government sees an opportunity to contribute to this

65 Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence (Online). History of the CCOE. Available online at: http://www.cimic-coe.org/home/history.php Date Accessed: 30 July 2013.

http://www.cimic-coe.org/home/history.php

59

cooperation, where the interactions will also involve interactions with

civilian organisations and actors. The CCOE’s vision statement includes

a strong emphasis on the focusing of multinational efforts at exposure

to what CIMIC is and how to improve it.66 In the pioneering of the

CCOE CIMIC Messenger in 2009, the editorial staff deemed it

justifiably necessary to include a visual conceptualisation of the

complexity of CIMIC and the diverse environment in which it fits that

NATO has identified to date, as seen in Figure 5.67 This echoes the

“jello” concept penned Mockaitis, and indicates the many directions in

which CIMIC “wobbles”.

Figure 5: CCOE CIMIC complexity web, November 2009.

66 CCOE general vision: • Take ownership for multinational CIMIC developments • Facilitate requirements for the further evolution of CIMIC for NATO, EU, UN and Sponsoring Nations • Facilitate an enhanced CIMIC capability platform • Focus on the application of mission relevant CIMIC aspects, while maintaining the overall perspective according tomorrows CIMIC related challenges • Integrate the civilian aspects of comprehensive requirements as a focal point for international and non-governmental organisations • Cooperate with civil scientific and academic key institutions in order to built and harden a common CIMIC fundament in the military and the civil Environment 67 Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence.: CIMIC Messenger – The CCOE Information Leaflet. Volume 1, Issue 1, November 2009. p. 2.

60

The pilot CCOE Messenger leaflet affirmed in its vision and

goals for 2010 statement that the resolution of crises by members of the

international community demands “an approach that responds

effectively to complex crises by the harmonisation, coordination and de-

confliction of NATO’s military and political instruments with the other

instruments of power”.68 As such it offers the opportunity through the

platform of the CIMIC messenger, for partner nations to air their

involvement, interpretation and implementation of CIMIC. In 2011

Austria was afforded the occasion of highlighting its version of the

CIMIC concept. The Austrian Armed Forces specific edition of the

CIMIC Messenger features an elaboration on the complexity of

Austria’s ZMZ and ZMZ/A as seen below, for the benefit of

institutional partners as an attempt by the contributors to exchange

information amongst CCOE military participants and their civilian

counterparts in aid of improved future relief and peace support mission

relationships, namely -

“a) National

Responsible for Civil-Military-Cooperation is on strategic level the

Austrian Ministry for Defence and Sports, on operational level J9

section/Joint Forces Command, in a mission the NCC together with the

68 Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence.: CIMIC Messenger – The CCOE Information Leaflet. Volume 1, Issue 1, November 2009. p. 2.

61

respective commander and on tactical level in the field the deployed

CIMIC units within the area of operation (AOO).

On brigade level there is one Engineer Officer/CIMIC Officer in each

brigade staff.

b) International

The Austrian Armed Forces' main focus within enhanced Partnership

for Peace is the achievement of interoperability, primarily for crisis

response operations. The Austrian Armed Forces have long-term

experience within multinational forces on battalion-level.

They participate in international NATO-, UN-, EU-, and OSCE- led

operations.”69

Furthermore, the Austrian exposition of their CIMIC

competency highlighted the courses on offer such as the international

CIMIC / PSO course which prepares Austrian Armed Forces members

for international deployment as CIMIC staff workers. This promotes the

image that Austria is abreast of CIMIC topics, and aware of the

complexity and importance of the undertaking that requires the

utilisation of CIMIC and CMCoord at the operational and strategic level

69 Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence.: CIMIC Messenger – The CCOE Information Leaflet. Volume 4, Issue 3, June 2011. p. 2.

62

as pointed out by Figure 6 drawn from the 2011 Austrian CIMIC

exposition in the CIMIC Messenger.70

Figure 6: Austria’s concept of Civil-Military Cooperation at national and international level.

Austria has a wealth of experience in CIMIC and CMCO in the

Balkans region, especially within the context of the Austrian Armed

Forces deployments to IFOR and SFOR, and consequent missions such

as KFOR (Kosovo Force) and the EU ALTHEA mission where

cooperation between the Bundesheer and non-governmental

organisations from Austria and further afield have received much media

coverage in the provisioning of relief aid and the facilitation of

cooperation between diverse actors.

4.4. Chapter Conclusion

Despite the plethora of different conceptualisations of CIMIC and the

diverse interpretations and implementations of the concept by the

militaries of sovereign states around the world in peace support

operations, there appears no closer clarifying mechanism at a high

70 Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence.: CIMIC Messenger – The CCOE Information Leaflet. Volume 4, Issue 3, June 2011. p. 2

63

academic level for what CIMIC actually entails at the point where

CIMIC is actually implemented. In this sense, the participation of

Austria to the NATO PfP and affiliation with the CIMIC Centre of

Excellence in the Netherlands is a willingness to learn from the coming

together of various perspectives in the competency.

Attendance to training institutions such as the CCOE is an

opportunity for those counterparts to learn from the perspectives which

the Austrian civil-military sphere of interactions may bring to the table.

Henry Carey71 points out the fact that CIMIC is a term widely used to

characterise the effort by bodies such as NATO and the UN to smooth

the management of the civil-military interface in peace support and

disaster relief missions. He draws caution that for many NGOs the

NATO definition of CIMIC, that is the partnership between civil and

military organisations are in support of the military mission, as a military

concept where they have no room to engage or independence to

interrelate.72 Commensurate with the connotations of CIMIC, the

CCOE institution is also open to civilian participation, and such a

transparent policy provides the opportunity for the ‘civil’ and the

‘military’ to gain experience together in training syndicates before they

71 Carey, H.F., Richmond, O.P.: Mitigating Conflict - The Role of NGOs. Frank Cass, London. 2003. p. 35. 72 Ibid. p.36.

64

are ever deployed to or find themselves in humanitarian relief operations

in complex situations.

In Carey’s work, Mitigating Conflict – The Role of NGOs,

Francis Kofi Abiew brings attention to the fact that just as there is a

misperception held by some in NGOs characterising mistrust of the

motives of the military in peace support operations where humanitarian

relief is involved, there is also a “corresponding ignorance of the military

on the part of NGOs” as well as that “the lack of familiarity is the

common refrain and recurrent theme about differences in organisational

cultures between the two organisations”.73 Where this unfortunate turn

of events can be mitigated is through assertive encouragement at a

national level to involve civil and military partners in cooperation at the

institutional teaching and administrative level to strengthen efforts such

as that of the Austrian Armed Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina and

Kosovo. When one helps the other, as the Bundesheer does in Kosovo,

and the national NGO Bauern helfen Bauern in Bosnia, much positive

change can be facilitated in affected areas.

73 Carey, H.F., Richmond, O.P.: Mitigating Conflict - The Role of NGOs. Frank Cass,

London. 2003. p. 29.

65

66

Chapter 5

Practical Examples of Austrian Civil-Military Cooperation in the Balkans Highlighted by the Austrian Media The Austrian government and press is replete with expositions on the

efforts of Austrian charitable organisations and the assistance lent by the

Armed Forces to helping the embattled regional neighbours in Bosnia-

Herzegovina and Kosovo during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

In this regard, the reactions at that time to help and more recent

sustained efforts as part of IFOR, SFOR, KFOR and the European

Union Military Operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (also known by its

mission name, ALTHEA74) solicit mention, particularly that of the

CIMIC undertakings of Austrian aid organisations such as the smaller

Bauern helfen Bauern, and the more large scale and higher profile

operations in that region in the past by Nachbar in Not.

It is one thing to hear of what CIMIC is at an academic or

scholarly level of debate in terms of terminology and the difficulty in

defining it as previously mentioned. It is altogether another detail to

reveal who may in fact know more of the term, whether it be in

scholarly, military academic circles, or in general society as a whole. In

Austria’s case, it can be reasoned by the author through an investigation

of the term CIMIC in the national press utilising the key words CIMIC

and including the lesser known Salzburg based organisation Bauern

74 Althea is a character from Greek mythology, the Greek goddess of the healing arts.

67

helfen Bauern, which in the period of September 2006 to October 2009

was mentioned five times in newspaper articles exclusively highlighting

the collaborative efforts of the NGO and the Austrian Bundesheer in

Bosnia and Kosovo. In the period January 2006 to December 2010, the

term CIMIC was mentioned in newspaper and online news media

articles some 55 times covering matters of civil-military cooperation in

the Balkan region between the Austrian military and civilian actors and

communities in relief operations. As such, Austrian citizens themselves

read in daily newspapers about the actual end outcomes of CIMIC

initiatives than entire academic discourses on the matter and other

academics who read published scholarly articles on the subject. 75

This chapter focuses on the establishment of a strong Austrian

presence in the post-conflict restoration efforts in the Former

Yugoslavia. This will focus on the core competency and guiding

principle of CIMIC as part of the Austrian Armed Forces doctrine.

Furthermore, it emphasises the grassroots work done in CIMIC by the

Bundesheer CIMIC practitioners together with the organisation Bauern

helfen Bauern and a conclusion of the vital experience gained in this

region that contributes to Austria’s expertise and ability to host others

from around the world in improving the competency of CIMIC.

75 BM für Landesverteidigung und Sport - Pressespiegel 25.7.2013 Produkt der APA-DeFacto GmbH. See Annex VII for transcript.

68

5.1. Austrian Civil and Military Actors in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo: CIMIC at the Core of the Austrian Armed Forces

At the commencement of the year 2006, the Austrian

Bundesministerium für Inneres76 submitted together with the

Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport77 an application to

the Council of Ministers for the establishment of a project group for the

strengthening of civil-military cooperation. This was intended at the

time to optimise the interactions of military forces and civil actors in

crisis regions. The press release made by the Ministry of the Interior

stated that the priority was for -

“Ein sicheres Umfeld, funktionierende Zivilstrukturen und vor

allem die humanitäre Hilfe sind eine der Voraussetzungen für eine

langfristige Stabilisierung einer Krisenregion.”

as well as

“Um das zu erreichen, müssen die verschiedenen Organisations-

strukturen und -kulturen der eingesetzten humanitären, zivilpolizeilichen

und militärischen Hilfs- und Einsatzorganisationen harmonisiert, aber

auch berücksichtigt werden.”78

76 Translated to English as: Ministry of the Interior. 77 Ministry of Defence and Sport. 78 Bundesministerium für Inneres.: Zivil-militärische Zusammenarbeit: “Ministerrat beschließt Einsetzung einer Projektgruppe”. 30 March 2006. Available online at: http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060330_OTS0303/zivil-militaerische-zusammenarbeit-ministerrat-beschliesst-einsetzung-einer-projektgruppe

Date Accessed: 30 July 2013. Translated into English as: “A secure environment with

functioning civil structures must be in place before all humanitarian aid work, and is a prerequisite for long-term stabilization in a crisis region. To achieve this, the various organizational structures and cultures of established humanitarian, civilian police and

military aid and Organizations must be considered and harmonised.”

http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060330_OTS0303/zivil-militaerische-zusammenarbeit-ministerrat-beschliesst-einsetzung-einer-projektgruppe


69

On the same day, the former Secretary General of the Austrian

Broadcasting Corporation and founder of the Austrian humanitarian

relief organisations Licht ins Dunkel79 and Nachbar in Not, Mr Kurt

Bergmann was installed in his capacity as director of the project group

for the task force on civil-military cooperation, because of his expertise

in the field of humanitarian provision in concert with the Armed Forces.

The Austrian Armed Forces Reform Commission recommendations to

implement this project gave for a concept to be developed before the

end of 2006 whereby staff and infrastructure would be sourced by the

Ministry of Defence and Sport. The undertaking was felt necessary due

to the general need for a government coordinated project. 80

Katja Mopils, in her 2009 Diplomarbeit entitled Civil and Military

Co-operation als Militärische Kernaufgabe im Österreichischer Bundesheer,81

elaborated on the importance of CIMIC at the strategic and tactical level

for the Austrian Armed Forces. In the Austrian context, Mopils refers to

that time when the Austrian Armed Forces created their in-house

CIMIC competency for establishment in the Belgier Kaserne in Graz

under the direction of the Austrian Armed Forces Centre for

79 Translated to English as: Light in the Dark. 80 Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung Presseabteilung. “Kurt Bergmann Leiter der Projektgruppe zu Zivil- Militärischer Zusammenarbeit”. 30 March 2006. Available online at: http://www.bmlv.gv.at/cms/artikel.php?ID=2787 Date Accessed: 22 September 2013. 81 Mopils, Katja. Civil and Military Co-operation als Militärische Kernaufgabe im Österreichischer Bundesheer. Diplomarbeit. Wiener Neustadt, July 2009.

http://www.bmlv.gv.at/cms/artikel.php?ID=2787

70

International Cooperation, since renamed the Austrian Armed Forces

International Centre. Mopils points out the important factors then

realised for strong government and non-government interaction into

Austrian CIMIC doctrine -

“…befindet sich die Schnittstelle zwischen dem Bundesministerium für

Landesverteidigung, den Behörden und Dienststellen, zivilen Behörden,

internationalen Regierungs- und Nichtregierungsorganisationen,

sonstigen Organisationen sowie der Wirtschaft sowohl im In- als auch

im Ausland im Speziellen mit den Soldaten in den Einsatzräumen im

Ausland. Im Bereich der Joint 9 Abteilung findet ebenso eine aktive

Zusammenarbeit mit dem Zentrum fur Internationale Kooperation,

ebenfalls in der Belgier Kaserne disloziert, statt.” 82

Mopils also emphasises the importance of the projected strength of

whatever relationship is to exist and grow between military and non-

military shareholders in peace support or humanitarian operations. For

the Austrian Armed Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo,

providing security to local communities as part of wider UN, NATO or

EU affiliated operations extends further to interacting with local

communities, gathering information on areas of concern or danger, and

82 Mopils, Katja. Civil and Military Co-operation als Militärische Kernaufgabe in Österreichischer Bundesheer. Diplomarbeit. Wiener Neustadt, July 2009. p. 30. Translated into English as: “the interface between the Federal Ministry of National Defense, the authorities and departments, civilian authorities, international governmental and non-governmental and similar organizations, other organizations and commercial business enterprises both at home and abroad, in particular with the soldiers who are in deployments abroad. In this area the Joint 9 Department also takes an active collaboration with the Center for International Cooperation, also deployed in the Belgian barracks instead. Ibid. p.p. 31, 32.

71

relaying these facts on to important shareholders. In this, Mopils states

that transparency and consistency in operational behaviour is vital –

“Ein Beziehungsnetzwerk kann nur auf Basis von Vertrauen aufgebaut

werden, und dies ist sicherlich nicht ad hoc zu etablieren. Daher ist das

Herstellen und Halten von Verbindungen zwischen den beiden

Elementen äusserst wichtig und dient in weiterer Folge auch dem

langsamen Aufbau einer Vertrauensbasis. Des weiteren kann ein stetiger

Informationsaustausch gewährleistet werden, der wiederum

auftragsrelevant ist gerade zu Beginn einer Konflictprävention oder

eines Krisenreaktionseinsatzes eine enorme Herausforderung fur eine

eingesetzen Kräfte.”83

In 2006, the European Union chose to continue the use of

armed forces in assisting the victims of war despite the controversy

which this creates. The Austrian newspaper Der Standard covered this

theme in the article “Heerscharen der Humanität?” 84 The fact that the

post-Cold War world had drastically changed the realities for armed

forces was most apparent, and according to the aforementioned

publication, the European armies had lost their original motivation for

high readiness, and as such were seen to be seeking alternate

83 Mopils, Katja. Civil and Military Co-operation als Militärische Kernaufgabe in Österreichischer Bundesheer. p. 31, 32. Translated to English as: “A network of relationships can be established only on the basis of trust, and this is certainly not to establish on an ad hoc basis. Therefore, the production and retention of connections between the two elements are extremely important and used consequently in the slow building up of trust. Furthermore, a continuous exchange of information must be ensured, which in turn is just the beginning of a relevant contract or a rapid-reaction conflict-prevention which is an enormous challenge for a deployed force. 84 Translated to English as: Armies of Humanity.

72

employment elsewhere, as has been seen in the field of humanitarian aid

in disaster relief and complex emergency intervention.85 In contrast to

this, the Austrian paper Kleine Zeitung would one year later in an article

entitled “Im Einsatz für Würde und Menschlichkeit”86 that Austrian

CIMIC troops deployed to the district of Suva Reka in Kosovo

implementing aid and construction projects with civil actors as well as

the visiting of the homes of those without the means to travel to deliver

food and medical supplies.87 These operations are accomplished

completely through the monetary and material donations of the Austrian

public and distribution in collaboration with local actors by the Austrian

Armed Forces.

Not only the Austrian government itself is involved in the

advertisement of CIMIC, but also political parties. At the very time of

the formation of the CIMIC competency of the Austrian military, the

Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP), whose military affairs spokesperson

Murauer made it known after attending the government’s working group

that due to the expertise of Austria in the Bosnia / Kosovo region -

85 "Der Standard" of 16.06.2006. Page 39. “Heerscharen der Humanität?” 86 Translated to English as: In Action for Dignity and Humanity. 87 "Kleine Zeitung" of 25.12.2007. Page 30. By Elisabeth Pötler.: “Im Einsatz für Würde und Menschlichkeit”.

73

“der dieser Arbeitsgruppe angehört, sieht es als sehr erfreulich an, dass

dieses österreichische CIMIC-Modell nun von Brüssel aufgegriffen wird.

[…] "Die EU ist interessiert, eine einheitliche Vorgehensweise bei der

Hilfe und Unterstützung nach Katastrophen und Kriegshandlungen zu

finden" ”88

By June 2006 the announcement was made in the Austrian press

that by September a newly established Streitkräfte-Kommando89 would

be opened in the Belgier Barracks of the city of Graz, for the overall

coordinating of domestic and overseas Austrian military operations. The

chief of that new institution, Günther Höfler, described at the time that

the goal was for the centralised planning of operations and the leading

of troops, and in addition builds a bridge for civil-military cooperation.90

In terms of the actual application of the cooperation between

Austrian non-governmental aid organisations and the Austrian Armed

Forces, the example of the relationship forged with Bauern helfen

Bauern organisation and their efforts highlighted by the Austrian press

will be brought into narrower focus in the period 2006 to 2010.

88 ÖVP Press statement. Murauer: “Österreich ist Vorbild bei CIMIC”.

Available online at: http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060617_OTS0008/murauer-oesterreich-ist-vorbild-bei-cimic Date Accessed: 30 July 2013. Translated into English as: : “heard at this working group , that it is very gratifying that the Austrian CIMIC model is now taken up by Brussels. [and that] "The EU is interested in having a consistent approachto mobilising help and assistance after disasters and acts of war.” 89 Translated into English as: Special forces Command. 90 "Kleine Zeitung" of 07.08.2006. Pages 14, 15. By Link, Martin.: “Das neue Superkommando richtet sich in Graz ein”.

http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060617_OTS0008/murauer-oesterreich-ist-vorbild-bei-cimic


74

5.2. CIMIC in Focus: Austrian Bundesheer and Bauern helfen Bauern in Bosnia and Kosovo

The privately administered and independent Austrian non-governmental

organisation Bauern helfen Bauern (BHB), or Farmers Helping Farmers

association, was established in 1992 with the intention of working

towards humanitarian relief ends in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and

Kosovo through the driving force of its founder, Salzburg government

provincial councilwoman Doraja Eberle. The organisation was from the

outset and continues to be a volunteer operation, whose undertakings

are fully funded and supplied by the donations of private citizens and

enterprises. According to its website section explaining its method of

operation, it makes no attempt to conceal its association with the local

authorities in its area of operations in Croatia and Bosnia, in that:

“All communal bodies, Caritas, humanitarian organisations, EUFOR,

UNHCR and OHR are fully aware of our activities.” 91

Furthermore, the organisation promotes a collaborative reconstruction

and resettlement project system in various villages and towns ravaged by

the conflict in the rural areas around Srebrenica and the Bosnia-

Herzegovina area irrespective of ethnic, religious or cultural differences.

91 Bauern helfen Bauern Online (English Version): About FHF. Available online at: http://www.bhb-sbg.at/1/top-navi/about-fhf/ Date Accessed: 30 July 2013.

http://www.bhb-sbg.at/1/top-navi/about-fhf/

75

the Austrian Armed Forces, as a longstanding regional peace and

security operations participant, likewise involves itself in humanitarian

cooperation with organisations such as BHB through the rendering of

logistic support. There are many Austrian organisations containing the

word “Helfen” present in the Former Yugoslavia, and the Bundesheer

helps not only BHB, but also the initiative "Österreichische Schüler

helfen Schülern im Kosovo"92 where on 06 May 2006 Austrian students

from technical organisations in Steyer, Mödling, and Carinthia assisted

in the installation of IT and technical equipment in the middle school

and technical school of Suva Reka, Kosovo, as well as the University of

Prishtina where student cooperation took place in the subject of town

planning.93 The Austrian Army CIMIC contribution consisted of the

accommodation provided to the Austrian students during their time in

Kosovo, and provision of security for participants and the media

contingent providing profile raising exposure for the duration of the

Austrian-Kosovar collaboration.94

92 Translated to English as: Austrian Students Helping Students in Kosovo. 93 Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung Presseabteilung.: “Schüler helfen Schülern im Kosovo“. 31 May 2006. Available online at: http://www.bmlv.gv.at/cms/artikel.php?ID=2787 Date Accessed: 30 July 2013. 94 Ibid.


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In this way the Austrian military contingent as part of Althea in

Kosovo acted in a facilitating capacity and in no way took away from the

effort at strengthening the well-being of the local community and wider

relations-building efforts between citizens of the two nations. Bauern

helfen Bauern together with the Austrian Bundesheer facilitated the

transportation of some twenty tonnes of charcoal briquettes used in

heating, to a school and hospital in Srebrenica. This donation, made by

the Austrian construction firm Kährs was transported by the Austrian

Army in three freight trucks, where through the coordination by BHB

the school and hospital could be heated during the winter, as after the

previous winter these institutions had been without heating. Reporting

on this effort on 18 October 2006, the Austrian publication Kronen

Zeitung reported that in addition to this twenty tonne consignment

carried by the military, a further ninety tonnes of supplies gathered by

BHB from the confectionery manufacturer Manner, baby food from of

the Südtiroler company Schär, as well as countless boxes of food and

essential items regularly donated by the citizens of Salzburg were

transported and coordinated by the Austrian and Salzburger CIMIC

officer Major Günter Zimmer. 95

95 “Kronen Zeitung” of 18.10.2006. Page 19. “Winterholz für bosnische Schule”.

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Such humanitarian operations facilitated by CIMIC officers are not

without incident, and in the case of BHB, a similar Austrian army truck

convoy carrying food, fuel, textiles and tools for BHB on its way to

Bosnia was detained on the Croatia-Bosnia frontier by Bosnian customs

authorities. Numerous attempts at the release of the convoy, detained

due to paperwork errors, went without success. The rapid interventions

and presence of the aforementioned CIMIC officer Major Zimmer

resulted in the release and continued journey of the convoy, with the

founder of BHB Doraja Eberle saying:

"Auf allen politischen Ebenen haben wir versucht, den Konvoi frei zu

bekommen", berichtet Eberle. Interventionen von Außenministerin

Ursula Plassnik und von Botschafter Werner Almhofer in Bosnien

blieben erfolglos: Außenminister Ivanic Mladen gab keine

Genehmigung. Erst als Eberle ein Kontakt zu Ministerpräsident Adnan

Terzic gelang, wurde Samstag 14 Uhr grünes Licht für die Einreise

gegeben.96

While coordination of the collection and transportation of relief

supplies from humanitarian organisations is more easily, the structural

benefits of the military assistance in the process are of benefit. With a

96 “Salzburger Nachrichten" of 24.10.2006 Page L6. Hilfsaktion in Nöten– “Lebensmittel nach Bosnien beschlagnahmt”. Translated to English as: "At all levels of government, we have tried to get the convoy free," says Eberle . Interventions by Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and [Austrian] Ambassador Werner Almhofer in Bosnia were unsuccessful: Foreign Minister [for Bosnia-Herzegovina] Mladen Ivanic gave no permission. Only when Eberle contacted Prime Minister Adnan Terzic success came, when the green-light for entry was given on Saturday at 14h00.

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willingness to gather supplies on the one side, and the commitment of

the Austrian Armed Forces logistics capacity and coordination of

CIMIC teams on the ground, these supplies are able to reach the

intended area either by land or by air. The Austrian Luftstreitkräfte97

have made cargo transport aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules available

for the transportation of Austrian humanitarians (such as BHB, NiN on

their way to the KFOR contingent area of operations, and furthermore

protected by the armoured vehicles and troops of the Austrian

contingent deployed there.98 The Austrian newspaper Kurier, quoted

Günther Platter, Austrian Minister of Defense on 29 December 2006 in

Kosovo elaborated on the dual military and humanitarian reasons for

cooperation which CIMIC can provide as they carry humanitarian aid

for NGOs, as well as store and supervise their safe dissemination:

“Je schneller ein Einsatzraum politisch und sozial stabilisiert ist,

umso früher kann man auch die Truppen abziehen. Und für die

Stabilisierung sind die zivilen Projekte eine wertvolle Hilfe.”99

With the aforementioned sentiment in mind, members of the

Austrian CIMIC function who have worked in collaboration with BHB

continued their work in the Bosnia-Herzegovina / Kosovo region after

97 English equivalent: Air Force.

98 "Kurier" of 29.12.2006. Page 13. “Flieger und Lkw gibt es gratis.” 99 Translated into English as: “The faster a operational area can be stabilized politically and socially, the sooner you can withdraw the troops. In addition, civilian projects are a valuable aid for stabilization.”

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the completion of their military service in their civilian capacities with

BHB itself. Vizeleutnant Hans Hermann of the Austrian Bundesheer is

reported by the Kleine Zeitung on 09 February 2008 that his

experiences as a civil-military cooperation officer in the former crisis

region of Bosnia in the period 2006 and 2007 brought him after his

services with the military to continue work with BHB in the region.100 In

this, he emphasises the guiding principle of sustainability that BHB and

the Bundesheer assign where Austrian CIMIC and BHB deliver to

affected communities:

“Es werden Schafe und Kühe gekauft, die Zukunft bedeuten.

Mit 500 Euro für vier weibliche und ein männliches Schaf gibt man

einer Familie die Lebensgrundlage, denn die Herde muss wachsen,

bevor ein Tier geschlachtet werden darf. Eine Kuh, die Milch für vier

Familien gibt, kostet rund 1000 Euro.”101

The Kleine Zeitung, which reports extensively on CIMIC activities in

Bosnia and Kosovo during this time, extended an article entitled

“Zeichen der Hoffnung im bosnischen Frühling”102 whereby the

collaboration between BHB and Bundesheer troops and CIMIC

elements stationed with EU forces in the cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla

100 "Kleine Zeitung" of 09.02.2008. Pages 26, 27. By Trummer, Regina.: “Schafe und Kühe für den Start in ein neues Leben.” 101 "Sheep and cows are purchased, and represent the future. With 500 Euros for purchasing four female and a male sheep, one has the foundation for a family’s livelihood, because the herd has grown before an animal may be slaughtered. A cow gives milk for four families, and costs around 1000 Euros." 102 Translated to English as: Signs of hope in the Bosnian Spring.

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under the leadership of Austrian Colonel Peter Bobik expressed similar

sentiments to Vizeleutnant Hermann.103 In the distribution of supplies

donated by Austrian town Feldbach’s charity “Feldbachs Wirtschaft hilft

Bosnien”104 the Feldbach representative Hermann Schmidt articulated in

the Kleine Zeitung that:

“Mit Schafen und Kühen, die in Bosnien mit Spendengeldern

aus Österreich gekauft werden, können viele Bauern wieder eine

Existenz begründen", überreichen Schmidt und Hermann die Spenden

aus Feldbach persönlich - darunter auch hunderte Säckchen mit

Gemüse- und Blumensamen, die von Schulkindern aus dem Bezirk

gesammelt wurden.”105

The local investment and partnership aspect is an attempt by the

Austrian CIMIC efforts to involve all aspects of the community being

worked with. On 18 March 2008 the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation

ORF (Österreichischer Rundfunk) channel OE1 broadcast a televised

interview with Austrian Army CIMIC soldiers based in Kosovo, entitled

“Humanitäre Aktivitäten des österr. Bundesheers im Kosovo”,

interviewing numerous Austrian contingent troops Nof AUTCON on

their role in the region. A central piece to these interviews was the

103 "Kleine Zeitung" of 06.04.2008. Pages 40, 41. By Trummer, Regina.: “Zeichen der Hoffnung im bosnischen Frühling” 104 Translated into English as: Feldbach’s Commerce Helps Bosnia. 105 Translated into English as: “With sheep and cows, which are bought in Bosnia with donations from Austria, many farmers can re-establish an existence,” Donations gathered from Feldbach personally - including hundreds of bags of vegetable and flower seeds, which were collected by school children from the district.”

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prominence of successful projects which were accomplished through

Austrian CIMIC, that is the assistance in the field of education. The

improvement of the technical school Skender Lurasi near the KFOR

Camp Casablanca military camp at Suva Reka was accomplished through

private donations and help from NGOs as well as the technical know-

how by members of the Austrian contingent’s logistics and CIMIC

branches present. This contributes to the desired outcome of promoting

goodwill and an atmosphere of peace in an area of former conflict.106

The CIMIC officer in charge interviewed, Captain Gerhard Friedl,

expressed himself thus:

“Wir versuchen der Ansehen KFOR und unseres Bataillons zu steigern

und auch die Kooperationsbereitschaft der Bevölkerung und ihrer

Repräsentanten zu erhöhen, das ist an und für sich ein Geschäft mit

hoffentlich beiderseitigem Nutzen.”107

Thomas Mockaitis supports such a sentiment with his own appraisal of

the Austrian contingent’s CIMIC operational style in the Suva Reka area.

106 Ö1 Mittagsjournal television broadcast transcript of 18.03.2009. 12h00. “Humanitäre Aktivitäten des österr. Bundesheers im Kosovo”. Available online at: http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060617_OTS0008/murauer-oesterreich-ist-vorbild-bei-cimic Date Accessed: 30 July 2013. 107 Ibid. Translated to English as: “We encourage the improvement of the reputation of KFOR and our Battalion and also to increase the willingness of the population and its representatives to cooperate, which is in itself hopefuly becomes a relationship with mutual benefits.”



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He highlights the fact that the under strength platoon of Austrian

CIMIC troops attached to their nations’ deployed battalion is very small

and operated with limited resources, a situation which was

counterbalanced by having dedicated personnel and support from

partners in the EU contingent. The only pitfall to this Mockaitis states,

is that “The success of Austrian CIMIC depends heavily on the

willingness of the battalion to contribute its resources to projects.”108

Furthermore, the following Mockaitis’ quotation of the effectiveness vis-

à-vis the Austrian CIMIC forces is highly meritorious:

“Because they have no humanitarian aid or development budget,

the Austrians have become very proficient at locating NGOs willing to

fund a project and then lending their military assets to it. In what may be

a unique innovation, they have charged an individual in the Austrian

Ministry of Defense with lining up donors for CIMIC projects in

Kosovo.”109

During the SFOR and KFOR missions the Austrian Contingents were

also drivers of intensive cooperation in the area of finance and insurance

economics, and the cooperation between the AUCON SFOR mission

and the Austrian Foreign Economic Centre in Bosnia-Herzegovina

which precipitated the eventual installation of the CIMIC Center Austria

108 Mockaitis, T. R.: Civil-Military Cooperation in Peace Operations: The Case of Kosovo. Strategic Studies Institute. 2004. p. 20. http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub583.pdf Date Accessed: 30 July 2013. 109 Ibid.

http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub583.pdf

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as an adjunct to the International Command in Graz, Styria.110 Explicit

mention is made in the publication “Ever Ready! The Austrian Armed

Forces at Home and Abroad” that the operations of CIMIC in Bosnia-

Herzegovina has a double goal, that being the assistance to humanitarian

aid projects such as that of Bauern helfen Bauern and secondly the

assistance in the development of the regional economy and also its

relationship with Austria.

5.3. Chapter Conclusion It should be stated that while the engagement of the Austrian Armed

Forces with domestic and international NGOs is laudable at face value,

concerns can be and are raised by opponents of this practice since there

is scepticism of the agendas with which this is carried out. On 29

December 2006, the same day as the Kurier article “Flieger und Lkw

gibt es gratis” was published expressing the Austrian Defence Minister

Platter’s support of the CIMIC concept, Wolfgang Kopetzsky, Secretary

General of the Austrian Red Cross states his firm opinion against the

association and cooperation with military forces in peace support

operations through the organisation’s website on the concept of CIMIC,

saying:

110 Urrisk-Obertynski, R. M.: “Ever Ready! The Austrian Armed Forces at Home and Abroad”. Weishaupt Publishing, Vienna. 2011. p. 214.

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“Für mich steht aber fest: Wo immer sich Soldaten als Helfer für

Kriegsopfer betätigen, wird es brandgefährlich - nämlich für die

Kriegsopfer und für die zivilen Helfer.”111

This attitude itself has merits, though it in itself does not speak to the

whole picture of interactions in complex emergencies and the choices

made by those who wish to involve themselves there in humanitarian

operations. Der Standard reported on 19 March 2009, that the erstwhile

Austrian Minister for Defence Norbert Darabos declaring after a

meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels that the Austrian military as

part of the EU mission ALTHEA should stay in Bosnia longer and not

be withdrawn from the region. 112 Also present was fellow Austrian Fritz

Neugebauer who supported the Defence Ministers opinion and warned

against the pulling out of Austrian troops and their CIMIC function

which they fulfilled:

"Da wurden an kritischen Punkten Häuser angemietet, die von

Soldaten bewohnt werden, die dann in der Bevölkerung als sogenannte

111 Österreichischen Roten Kreuz.: “Humanitäre Hilfe der Militärs ist inakzeptabel.” 29 December 2006. Available Online at: http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060616_OTS0066/humanitaere-hilfe-der-militaers-ist-inakzeptabel Date Accessed: 30 July 2013.

Translated to English as: “For me one thing is clear : Wherever soldiers are active as a helper for war victims, it is a fire hazard - namely for the victims of war and civilian aid workers.” 112 "Der Standard" of 19.05.2009. Page 6. “Heer soll noch länger in Bosnien bleiben.”

http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060616_OTS0066/humanitaere-hilfe-der-militaers-ist-inakzeptabel


85

'Temperaturfühler' leben, damit man früh auf Konflikte aufmerksam

wird."113

According to Der Standard, reporting on the matter, Neugebauer

stressed the centrality of CIMIC and that the withdrawal of troops

would be “a serious mistake.” 114

What such expositions make clear is that there was a high level

willingness of the Austrian government to support domestic and

international humanitarian organisations with military logistical

assistance so as to get vital humanitarian supplies to communities where

they are needed most. This is accomplished not only by the physical

military logistic transport in the form of heavy trucks and cargo aircraft

such as the C-130 Hercules used by the Luftstreitkräfte but also by the

efforts of CIMIC personnel on the ground who’s occupation it is to

make sure that all actors in an area of operations are kept informed of

relevant safety and security information as well as whether a need for

humanitarian action is required and who can provide this. Arguments

for and against such uses of CIMIC are acceptable, most notably the

notion that operating as a humanitarian organisation with a formation

such as NATO, one who’s CIMIC capacity places the military interest

113 Der Standard" of 19.05.2009. Page 6.: “Heer soll noch länger in Bosnien bleiben”. Translated into English as: "As houses were rented at critical points, inhabited by soldiers are then living in the population as a so-called 'temperature sensor', so that one early becomes aware of conflicts." 114 Ibid.

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first which may confound and dissuade NGOs and others from

cooperation.

The Austrian military has historically shown that such scepticism

can be avoided through a flexible attitude that puts partners firmly at the

table.115 Where the Austrian discourse on CIMIC and the importance of

bringing all partners concerned in humanitarian relief in disaster and

complex emergency scenarios excels, is the presentation of annual

conferences by the Austrian Peacekeeper Association and Blue Helmet

Forum Austria in Vienna, such as the 2012 conference theme

“Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the

Military?” being of inestimable value. Proceeds of the conference

together with the outcomes of the Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military

Cooperation Course / Peace Support Operations (CIMIC C / PSO)

attended by the author will be further expounded upon in the following

chapter, as further valuable layers of the CIMIC discourse are revealed

and give a clearer rounded perspective to the overall Austrian method of

civil-military cooperation and coordination.116

115 For an immersing view of the rolling out of CIMIC in a complex environment with multinational civil and military participants, see: Mockaitis, T. R.: Civil-Military Cooperation in Peace Operations: The Case of Kosovo. Strategic Studies Institute. 2004. 116 The publication of conference proceedings in hard copy or electronic book format from the abovementioned 2012 Blue Helmet Forum Austria held in Vienna can be procured through enquiries to Blue Helmet Forum Austria Academic Director, Austrian Armed Forces Colonel Mag. Georg Ebner at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Chapter 6 CIMIC Bearing Conferences and Courses: A Hands-On Academic Perspective on Austrian Armed Forces “Classroom” CIMIC The chapters preceding this one have provided an adequate macro-level

view of what CIMIC entails, in terms of the varying interpretations and

incarnations of the doctrine adhered to by NATO, its partners and

humanitarian aid organisations. What the academic and press media

perspectives do not adequately arrange for is the closer angle at which to

evaluate what drives the CIMIC capability and proficiency forward. This

takes place at two degrees, namely the policy and relevance based

debate, and secondly from within the standpoint of actual CIMIC

education. An assessment of both conditions are in following provided

by author participant observation into the Association of Austrian

Peacekeepers Blue Helmet Forum Austria Conference in October 2012

on “Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for

the Military?” as well as the Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military

Cooperation Course / Peace Support Operations (CIMIC C / PSO).

Bringing the experiences of these two events into prominence is

meant to highlight the substance of the civil-military interaction, in that

participation in both events, were of a civil-military nature. The former,

was composed of high ranking experts from the fields of politics,

business, media, science and diplomacy as well as armed forces general

staff representatives from across the globe. With the latter, the attended

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three week long CIMIC staff course was completely of a military nature,

with the author being the first civilian to attend this syndicated course.117

Beyond asking what concepts of CIMIC exist and reading of what

CIMIC tasks are accomplished through civil-military interactions in the

Austrian media press, the conference and course provide a view of

exactly how policymakers and soldiers themselves prepare to assist in

adjusting strategies and strengthening interactions in peace support and

complex emergency environments.

At these two events, insights were provided through speakers

and organisations with experience in peace support and humanitarian

relief operations, as well as Austrian Armed Forces instructors and

civilian experts with deployment experience in the Balkans and Africa.

The intention is to render a picture emphasising the importance of the

lessons learned during these events, chief among which being that the

discourse is challenging and demanding even for experts in the field .

Furthermore, it highlights the performance of Austria’s continued to

commitment in accommodating in CIMIC knowledge building

capability and facilitating national and international debate in the matter.

117 See Annexes III and IV for course completion certificate / participation photograph.

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6.1. “Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military?” … What Response?

The Austrian government has for a number of years supported the

initiative of the Association of Austrian Peacekeepers (APA), and the

aforementioned organisation itself in turn has supported and promoted

Austria’s involvement in peacekeeping endeavours around the world

through the United Nations and in civil society. Due to the proximity of

the United Nations infrastructure located in Vienna, the APA has

participates in the Network for Peace, a body representing peacekeepers

from nations hailing from Central and South East Europe. The APA

facilitates the well-attended and Austrian Armed Forces and Ministry of

Defence supported Blue Helmet Forum Austria (BHFA) series of

conferences held annually in the capital Vienna. In her paper

Understanding and Guiding Reconstruction Processes, Dorothea

Hilhorst underpins the wider space in which civil-military interactions

take place, namely those influenced by political judgements and choices

for intervention that can be obscured by vague or neutral identities,

saying that “Reconstruction is a political process and it is important to

bring these politics to the table to consider where meaningful

cooperation can be achieved.”118

118 Hilhorst, D.: Understanding and Guiding Reconstruction Processes. p. 120. in Reitjens and Bollen, 2008. p. 120.

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The Blue Helmet Forum Austria Conference on “Humanitarian

Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military?” which took

place from 22 to 24 October 2012 at the Sala Terrena of the Austrian

Armed Forces National Defence Academy, Vienna, built upon the

conference held in the same time and location by the BHFA with the

theme “International Disaster Relief Assistance – What Role for the Military”,

and sought to build upon positive outcomes from that conference in

finding new and refined methods for engaging national military forces in

austere humanitarian emergency situations with their civilian

counterparts. This conference series is hosted annually by the Austrian

government in the same location. The 22nd - 24th October 2012

conference, organised by the Association of Austrian Peacekeepers

(AAP) and BHFA in conjunction with the Directorate General for

Security Policy of the Austrian Ministry of Defence, the National

Defence Academy, and Institute for Human and Social Sciences, was

advertised in the preceding months in the print and electronic media as:

“... directed towards experts from the civilian and military field

and towards high ranking personalities from politics, business, media,

science and diplomacy, for whom the knowledge of the military aspects

of “Emergency Relief Operations” and civil-military coordination is of

relevance.”119

119 Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012 Publicity document.

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In addition to the preponderance of participants from the

Austrian Armed Forces, this English language-based conference

attracted numerous participant speakers from armed forces from the

European Union, NATO, and as far afield as the African Union (AU)

and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). From

the civilian sphere, speakers from international governmental,

governmental and non-governmental organisations (IGO’s, GO’s and

NGO’s) were in representation. In the three days of scheduled

conference participation, the first day was composed of introductions

and keynote speeches by the organisers, the setting out of guidelines for

proceedings and the elucidation of practical experiences by Mr Kurt

Bergmann, co-founder of the Austrian NGO Nachbar in Not in

preparation of the 20th anniversary of that organisation’s creation. The

purpose of the 2012 forum was to discuss the role of civil and military

assistance in humanitarian crises, the exchange of experiences by the

civil-military cooperation spectrum, as well as the intention to advertise

the Austrian Armed Forces’ interest in increasing its exchange of

training, security sector reform and disarmament experience on the

African content (in light of the crisis unfolding in Mali at the time).120

120 Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military? Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. Vienna, October 22nd – 24th, 2012. Bundesministerium für Verteidigung und Sport, Vienna. 2012. p. xv.

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In his preface, Bundesheer Major General Johann Pucher, head

of the Directorate General for Security Policy of the Austrian Ministry

of Defence, expressed his opinion that Austria should heed the call and

revitalise its leading role in training and education, as well as the

coordinating role that it fulfilled organising EU training in the area of

Security Sector Reform, peace building and international law, as well as

the preparation measures undertaken for individuals acting as policy

advisors in operations at home and abroad.121 General Günther Griendl

(retired), chairperson of the Austrian Peacekeeper Association and

organiser of the BHFA, highlighted in his introduction at the conference

that two striking questions served as points of departure for debate on

the occasion, namely “If the military gets involved in humanitarian

assistance, the question arises as to when humanitarian assistance

becomes a humanitarian intervention.” as well as the question of human

rights violations, which was not adequately debated due to time

constraints.122

His sentiment was that the core issue in complex emergency

response was quote “to reconcile humanitarian action with necessary

security measures.”123 General Griendl posited that the so called “3D”

121 Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military? Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. xvii. 122 Ibid. 29. 123 Ibid.

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approach endorsed by Austria of Diplomacy, Defence and

Development, concerning the conceptual development of cooperation

between NGOs and ministries, was of paramount importance, as well as

the institutionalisation of the notion of avoiding competition across the

diverse spectrum of humanitarian assistance environments which each

require a different approach or guideline.124

The presence of Mr Kurt Bergmann, founder of Austrian NGO

Nachbar in Not provided illuminative insight into the tight collaborative

history between this NGO and the Bundesheer in the Balkan region.

The conglomeration of the efforts of the Austrian bodies of the Red

Cross, Caritas, and the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation together with

NiN drove some 5 700 trucks full of relief goods under Austrian Armed

Forces guarded and guided convoys to the region of the Former

Yugoslavia during the eight year-long conflict.125 Mr Bergmann

summarised the centrality of Austrian military involvement in the

humanitarian efforts of NiN as follows, that it was soldiers who:

“…with their armoured vehicles escorted the relief convoys with

food and medication to their places of destinations and thus

made the trips safe.

124 Bergmann, Kurt.: The Peaceful Use of the Austrian Armed Forces. In Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military? Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 30. 125 Ibid. p. 39.

95

…took packets of vegetable seeds and seed potatoes to the

people and thus contributed to capacity building in the

framework “Seeds for Peace”

…helped the rebuilding of the destroyed houses and schools,

notably in their free time.”126

With the accumulation of this experience, Mr Bergmann highlighted the

formation of the Austrian government working group and body of rules

for CIMIC with his cooperation. Mr Bergmann can be seen as a firm

proponent of strong cooperation between civil and military actors in

complex emergency environments which would stand out in stark

contrast to the subsequent speeches and statements by fellow

conference delegates.

According to Ms Sophie Solomon, Associate Expert in Civil-

Military Cooperation with OCHA in Geneva, the effective, coherent and

consistent United Nation Civil-Military Coordination function is a

shared responsibility and that the basic coordination of information

sharing, task division and joint planning between civil and military actors

on the ground and at headquarters level are of the utmost importance.

She emphasised the preference for the military’s support in the

provision of safety and security where needed, which would facilitate

126 Bergmann, Kurt.: The Peaceful Use of the Austrian Armed Forces. Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 41.

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access to affected peoples.127 The approach of United Nations bodies in

this regard can be seen to be one of cautious neutrality and impartiality.

From a military perspective, British Rear Admiral Bruce

Williams, Deputy Director of EU Military Staff, brought attention to the

fact that while militaries were increasingly being utilised in the

humanitarian aid space, any possible military solution could conceivably

have a civilian consequence. He mentioned the so called “wicked

problems” of the world which require people to be far more

collaborative, co-operative and compromising in order to solve. The EU

perspective offered here was that there are no simple solutions and that

considering the complexity of many humanitarian efforts, consensus

would have to be reached regarding “what military capabilities are

appropriate and in which circumstances” and “the focus of the military

in the first instance should be provision of capabilities that are unique to

the military, that do not exist in the civilian component, and that deliver

indirect support.” 128 In parting, with a comment not included in the

published conference proceeds, this author noted Rear Admiral Williams

127 Solomon, Sophie.: Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military? Principles, Policies and Guidelines. In Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p.p. 57, 58. 128 Williams, Bruce: Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military? p.p. 59 – 70. In Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 68.

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statement that the military should be “the last resort” but at the same

time “must not be the option of last thought.”129

While the conducting of the conference, opinions were seen at

various levels, both in presentations and discussion workshops, to be

very characteristic of the backgrounds from which the speakers hailed.

From the perspective of the Austrian Armed Forces, Colonel Peter

Hofer, commander of Special Forces in the Austrian Joint Forces

Command, presented his operational experience from several

operational tours in Kosovo as well as command experience during

Austria’s participation with EU forces in the Chad130. His examples of

improvement in the field of civil-military cooperation were to be wary of

the imposition of a particular view or standard to a distant land which is

not applicable or will be met with much resistance by local actors.

Furthermore, he cites the very real differences in the difference in

positions of NGO staff at the headquarters and field level. The

following quote on this divergence puts this issue into perspective:

129 Williams, Bruce: Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the

Military? Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 68. 130

Hofer, Peter.: Civil – military cooperation. How to improve? Three examples from the field. p.p. 195 – 198. In Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 196.

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“Whereas the workers on the field told us soldiers that they felt

fine with us and had no problem with us being around the corner (even

the more reluctant organisations), the back offices were always keen to

underlining their independence from any military activity.”131

The identification of such a disjoint in organisational consensus can

present a contradictory standpoint, whereby the provision of a safe and

secure environment, which Colonel Hofer states can be provided

without affecting the factor of impartiality highly sought after by NGOs.

He goes on to stress the vital nature of “the regular and open exchange

of information” and that “this should cover own (military) activities,

efforts and objectives to enable other actors to coordinate action,

thereby improving the overall activities and achievements.” 132

From the practical Austrian peace support perspective, Colonel Hofer

states that all actors have to work together, and while a military

perspective, where the mission and security comes first (thus often

dictating what information may be shared) the “need to share”

information should supersede the “need to know” principle in select

environments.133 Such an attitude can be seen to side with the sentiment

of Mr Bergmann, while it can come into contention with others.

131 Hofer, Peter.: Civil – military cooperation. How to improve? Three examples from the field. Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 196. 132 Ibid. p. 197. 133 Ibid.

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Mag. Martina Schloffer, Head of the International Disaster

Management Department of the Austrian Red Cross, noted with

concern her own opinions of the politicisation and militarisation of aid

and the consequent loss of neutrality by aid organisations. Nevertheless,

she states the policies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements

attempt at all costs to preserve the independence of humanitarian action

as a matter of principle, and without compromising its stance. Despite

this, she does concede that despite close cooperation between the

International Committee for the Red Cross and local Red Cross / Red

Crescent movements in complex emergency environments, the ICRC

does suffer constraints while adopting this uncompromising policy such

as in Afghanistan where access to stricken people is severely limited due

to the persistent insecurity prevalent there.134 Hilhorst concurs, and

echoes that: “Theoretically, during war time aid adheres to the

humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality, whereas after the

war is over aid seeks to facilitate the transition from emergency to

development which entails amongst others the engagement with other

actors, including the newly formed government and its constituent

parts.”135

134 Schloffer, Martina.: Humanitarian Aid in Complex Emergencies – What Role for the Military? Experiences from an Aid Organization’s Perspective. p. 133 – 145. In Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 141. 135

Hilhorst, D.: Understanding and Guiding Reconstruction Processes. 2008. p, 112.

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Ms Jules Frost, Senior Advisor for Civil-Military and Police

Relations for the World Vision International Partnership identified the

importance of overcoming such differences as pointed out above,

through identification where there complementarity and common

ground exists between humanitarian actors and military forces and, if

not, then when compromise can be mutually acceptable. This being, the

“what constitutes an acceptable compromise versus an unacceptable

compromise.”136 Perhaps the most important of Ms Frost’s

recommendations was the documentation of operational experiences,

both best and worst practices that can be learned from for the benefit of

future interactions and mission.

Judging from the vide spectrum of opinions on the matter and

the short period of time of three days in which all delegates could

participate in the debate on the role of the military in complex

emergencies, many aspects were skimmed over, though in general

satisfactory progress and consensus was reached that valuable

contributions had been made, as General Griendl said, “to the ongoing

effort of improving the efficiency of the civil-military coordination.”137

In the spirit of keeping pace with this on-going evolution, from the wide

136 Frost, Jules.: Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies: Improving Civil-Military Relations. p. 227 – 237. In Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p. 237. 137 Achleitner, T., Ebner, G., Griendl, G. (Eds.).: Blue Helmet Forum Austria 2012. p.p. 32, 33.

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spectrum of attendees, the Austrian Armed Forces International Centre

also sent two CIMIC practitioners to this conference in their capacity as

observers. From this conference, the connection was made from which

the author successfully attended the CIMIC C / PSO in Graz where

more detailed investigation of Austrian CIMIC was gained first hand.

6.2. Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military Cooperation Course for

Peace Support Operations 2013

From the 8th - 23rd of April 2013 the Austrian Armed Forces

International Centre (AUTINT), conducted its Civil-Military

Cooperation (CIMIC) Course for Peace Support Operations in the

Belgier Barracks of the Graz, Austria.138 This course was designed to

enable officers and Non Commissioned Officers of the Austrian

Bundesheer from its professional and militia ranks to carry out duties as

specialists assisting a national or multinational peace support operation

in civil-military cooperation. As previously mentioned, 2013 was a

precedent for civilian participation in this course.139

While the CIMIC courses of the Austrian Armed Forces have

always been advertised as being open to civilian participation, this

particular CIMIC course was the first in which the CIMIC division of

AUTINT had the presence of a civilian member. The participants to the

138 De Vries, J.: Civil Miltary Cooperation (CIMIC) and the Austrian Perspective. DER SOLDAT – Unabhängige Zeitung für Wehr- und Sicherheitspolitik. No. 11/2013 of 12 June 2013. p. 6. 139 Ibid.

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course are schooled so as to be at the time of graduation able to act as

information gatherers and serve as experts in advising military

commanders on all CIMIC issues within an area of responsibility.

Figure 7: View of the Austrian Joint Forces Command Headquarters at the Belgier Barracks, Graz.

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The Headline of the billboard poster in Figure 7 declares "Weltweit im

Einsatz für den Freiden!", translated as "Deployed worldwide for

peace!", an goes on to "thank all soldiers who protect and offer help

with professionalism and full engagement. This, so that people in need

may also be given a blessed Christmas."140 This is a very overt attempt

by the military and the civil administration to make it known both to

citizens passing by the base as well as those who work within its

confines, of the mission which Austria conducts abroad, and with whom

it is conducted in aid of. As the venue for the CIMIC course in April

2013, entry and departure from the Belgier Barracks every day, this sight

reinforced at least at a superficial level the aims and objectives of the

course and the greater international engagement of the Austrian state.

As previously mentioned, Austria has modelled itself upon that

NATO concept, and has integrated the CIMIC competency into the

military strategic concepts and doctrines of the Austrian Armed

Forces.141 In addition, AUTINT and its CIMIC branch works in

conjunction with the NATO accredited CIMIC Centre of Excellence

(CCOE) – Enschede, the Netherlands, where Austrian CIMIC

practitioners maintain close contact and attend requisite courses so as to

140 De Vries, J. Author’s collection. Date taken: 18 April 2013. Graz, Steiermark, Austria. 141 For further information on the CCOE conceptualisation of CIMIC as guided by NATO principles, please see the Civil-Military Co-operation Centre of Excellence CIMIC Field Handbook, 3rd edition. 307 pages. Available online at: http://www.cimic-coe.org/download/CFHB_3rd_edition.pdf

http://www.cimic-coe.org/download/CFHB_3rd_edition.pdf

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stay current with developing protocols. In his participation with the

Research Project "The Image of the Democratic Soldier: Tensions

Between the Organisation of Armed Forces and the Principles of

Democracy in European Comparison", Berthold Meyer of the Peace

Research Institute in Frankfurt highlights the efforts of Austria as a

neutral country which nevertheless engages itself substantially in the

“European Engagement for Peace”.142 In this research paper, he calls

into the spotlight the stances of the Austrian political parties ÖVP,

FPÖ, BZÖ), including the ÖVP’s proposals on security and defence

that:

• Neutrality as the Austrian self-image (which includes solidarity

with European partners and excludes populism as irresponsive);

• Purchase of military means to be able to enforce interests, peace,

liberty, democracy and human rights if necessary;

• Strategic regional partnerships with the neighbour states for the

security and stability of Austria and Europe;

• CIMIC with a special focus on the troops deployed in South-

East-Europe and the Balkans as an Austrian advertisement.

• Arguing for article 23f of the constitution which means that

armed sorties would be possible without a resolution of the

UNSC in a case of self-defence: “It is left to our own decisions

how we fulfil our obligations to support others.”143

142 Meyer, Berthold.: Austria between Felt Permanent Neutrality and Practised European Engagement - Austrian Case. Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. 2007. 143 Ibid. p. 2.

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In connection with the Austrian CIMIC efforts from 2006 onwards, the

second last point mentioned is of particular value, also considering that

the Austrian CIMIC reaches out to other partners (such as the CCOE in

Enschede) to broaden its own competencies.

The objectives of the course convey core functions of CIMIC

and CIMIC related concepts. Observed by the author, “To accomplish

this, military course administrators as well as civilian experts contribute

to Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) syndicates concentrating

on environmental damage and threat Assessments, familiarity with

CIMIC Assets, Liaison and Coordination Architecture, functions as a

CIMIC Liaison Officer, the establishment of CIMIC Centres,

Influencing of Civil Movements, Projects, and CIMIC Map Symbols and

Databases.”144

The carrying across of such competencies support the sentiment

of Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs, Dr

Michael Spindelegger, wrote in the September 2009 edition of

144 De Vries, J.: A South African Perspective on Austria’s Civil/Military Co-operation Efforts.25 June 2013. DefenceWeb - Africa’s Defence and Security News Portal. Online. Diplomacy and Peace Portal. Available Online at: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?view=article&catid=32%3Amilitary-art-a-science&id=30949%3Aa-south-african-perspective-on-austrias-civilmilitary-co-operation-efforts&option=com_content&Itemid=112 Date Accessed: 26 June 2013.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?view=article&catid=32%3Amilitary-art-a-science&id=30949%3Aa-south-african-perspective-on-austrias-civilmilitary-co-operation-efforts&option=com_content&Itemid=112



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“International Peace Operations and Local Society” 145 that to succeed in

peacebuilding and statebuilding in fragile environments:

“…experience shows that peacebuilding and statebuilding depend on

the fruitful interaction of military and civil components with local

capabilities in an inclusive political process...”

and that….

“The Austrian initiative on the socio-economic impact of international

peace operations is intended as a contribution to the overall synthesis of

security and development both in terms of strategy and on the

ground…”146

To that end, the author can attest that “Austrian CIMIC training

syndicates emphasise the importance of being able to conduct meetings

effectively with members of communities affected by various threats

and issues of concern, as well as the effective use of interpreters.”147

Because of the varied nature of threats and community concerns CIMIC

troops are taught basic negotiation techniques. Working well with

jounalists from the press and visual media is carried across as being of

paramount importance for CIMIC practitioners. This is an attempt to

145 Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. International Peace Operations and Local Society. Austrian Development Cooperation. Vienna, September 2009. p. 2. 146 Ibid. 147 De Vries, J.: A South African Perspective on Austria’s Civil/Military Co-operation Efforts.25 June 2013. DefenceWeb - Africa’s Defence and Security News Portal. Online. Diplomacy and Peace Portal. Available Online at: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?view=article&catid=32%3Amilitary-art-a-science&id=30949%3Aa-south-african-perspective-on-austrias-civilmilitary-co-operation-efforts&option=com_content&Itemid=112 Date Accessed: 26 June 2013.




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remedy the common problem of “cultural incompatibility” pointed out

by Abiew between military and civilian organisations as well as civilians

during peace support and relief operations.148

Writing in both the Der Soldat edition of 12 June 2013 and

online in the Defence Web publication on the points emphasised by the

Austrian CIMIC school, the author can attest to the importance placed

upon providing a comprehensive approach to mission success, that:

“In the interest of fulfilling the mandate of the mission, that

being the safety and security and the Commanders’ and Mission Intent,

Austrian CIMIC troops are instilled with a culturally sensitive attitude

and impartial image, whereby cultural and gender sensibility /

competency / awareness are stressed as most important in the

conducting of CIMIC tasks in the field.”149

148 Carey, H.F., Richmond, O.P.: Mitigating Conflict - The Role of NGOs. Frank Cass, London. 2003. p. 29. 149 De Vries, J.: Civil Miltary Cooperation (CIMIC) and the Austrian Perspective. DER SOLDAT – Unabhängige Zeitung für Wehr- und Sicherheitspolitik. No. 11/2013 of 12 June 2013. p. 6. And De Vries, J.: A South African Perspective on Austria’s Civil/Military Co-operation Efforts.25 June 2013. DefenceWeb - Africa’s Defence and Security News Portal. Online. Diplomacy and Peace Portal. Available Online at: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?view=article&catid=32%3Amilitary-art-a-science&id=30949%3Aa-south-african-perspective-on-austrias-civilmilitary-co-operation-efforts&option=com_content&Itemid=112 Date Accessed: 26 June 2013.




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Emphasising the inference of soldiers “living in the population

as a so-called 'temperature sensor' mentioned by Fritz Neugebauer150,

CIMIC officer and NCO candidates are also schooled in cooperation

with own nation and allied Liaison Observation and Liaison Monitoring

Teams (LOTs and LMTs).

During this course, emphasis is placed on the differences

between International Governmental Organisations, Governmental

Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisation in humanitarian

affairs, and how best to facilitate cooperation with them. During these

informative classes, the author was able to learn how:

“In deployments, CIMIC personnel establish themselves in self-

sufficient facilities called CIMIC Centres, which act as a point of contact

where meetings and visits with civil actors such as NGOs and or

community members together with the military can be conducted. This

is the base of operations for CIMIC Tactical CIMIC Teams (TCTs),

where a Liaison Matrix is developed, documenting persons of interest

from local community authorities and humanitarian organisations so

that the peace support commander is well informed of ‘who is who’

within the area of responsibility across the spectrum, from community

leaders and councils, as well as law enforcement, humanitarian aid

organisations and the wider military contingent. This streamlines

channels of communication, cooperation and sharing of information

150 Österreichischer Roten Kreuz.: “Humanitäre Hilfe der Militärs ist inakzeptabel.” 29 December 2006. Available Online at: http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20060616_OTS0066/humanitaere-hilfe-der-militaers-ist-inakzeptabel Date Accessed: 30 July 2013.



109

across CIMIC channels such as the reporting of unexploded

ordinance/landmine threats in an area, contamination of water supplies

or agricultural/grazing land, and the dangers of banditry or criminal

activity, all of which can affect post conflict recovery and

reconstruction. This also keeps all relevant actors well informed.”151

The syndicates are supplemented in the final week of the course

by practical mission training in the formulation and delivery of briefings

to commanding officers in a simulated Headquarters staff environment

extending to actual manoeuvres in the surrounding Styrian countryside

around Graz involving “go and see visits” to interact with various civil,

humanitarian and paramilitary role playing actors in a real community

within a simulated post-conflict / post-natural disaster script and

storyline.152 Challenging objectives are set with role players who can

impose heavy demands upon the military for assistance, in the form of

visits to “community members”, or a highly realistic negotiation session

in a simulated CIMIC Center where the CIMIC student and his or her

TCT is subjected to aggressive discussions and demands for resources.

Through this practical experience in concert with strong syndicate

151 De Vries, J.: A South African Perspective on Austria’s Civil/Military Co-operation Efforts.25 June 2013. DefenceWeb - Africa’s Defence and Security News Portal. Online. Diplomacy and Peace Portal. Available Online at: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?view=article&catid=32%3Amilitary-art-a-science&id=30949%3Aa-south-african-perspective-on-austrias-civilmilitary-co-operation-efforts&option=com_content&Itemid=112 Date Accessed: 26 June 2013. 152 De Vries, J.: Civil Miltary Cooperation (CIMIC) and the Austrian Perspective. DER SOLDAT. No. 11/2013 of 12 June 2013. p. 6.




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instruction, participants learn how to operate within the grassroots

TCTs as a step to possible future operations in other CIMIC structure

assets at Platoon, Company and Group level, as well as in CIMIC

Deployable Modules and Support Units. Additionally, these participants

gain the knowledge to join pools of Functional Specialists.

Austrian international deployments in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the

Golan Heights, Kosovo and Lebanon have all engaged in CIMIC

operations in varying extents, with the greatest emphasis for such

undertakings being in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Austria’s

participation in the NATO PfP and its specific focus on competencies

like CIMIC seeks to create a competent Crisis Response Operations

(CRO) and Peace Operations (PO) that exploits the Bundesheer’s long-

standing experience with multinational forces on battalion level as

highlighted in previous chapters on the involvement of Austrian troops

in CIMIC endeavours, structured and overseen at a strategic level in

Austria and delegated flexibly at the tactical level in the area of

operations. It should be stressed that the Austrian method of CIMIC is

not intended to take over humanitarian aid, but is more calculated in

putting those persons in touch who are more qualified for the job.153

153 De Vries, J.: Civil Miltary Cooperation (CIMIC) and the Austrian Perspective. DER SOLDAT. No. 11/2013 of 12 June 2013. p. 6.

111

Figure 1 CIMIC Structure in Austria. 154

In a transition which must be characteristic of the cooperation

between civil and military partners in a specific environment,

participation in both the BHFA conference and the CIMIC course can

be described as most insightful, and within the context of the CIMIC

course, not without incident. From the outset, the intention was to be

granted the opportunity to participate in the CIMIC course alongside

the military participants so as to gain additional insight into how the

military prepares its members to work in cooperation and conjunction

with civilian actors in peacekeeping and emergency situations. What was

not initially foreseen was the experience of exactly the kind of initial

unfamiliarity or neutral animosity exhibited by the military participants

to the introduction of a civilian contestant into their world. The

154 Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence.: CIMIC Messenger – The CCOE Information Leaflet. Volume 4, Issue 3, June 2011. p.3.

112

introduction to Austrian military patterns was abrupt and almost

complete155, in that practical and classroom course interaction with the

fellow participants on the military base was on average from 09h00 to

17h00 every weekday, including the partaking of meals alongside the

general military population on base in the barracks cafeteria.

This can be seen to be an even more thorough immersion in the

Bundesheer CIMIC method than would be exposed to civilian actors

within a peacekeeping deployment, and was by no means unchallenging.

As an English first language speaker, the detail that the course was

offered (as with all other courses presented by the AUTINT at its two

satellite bureaus in Graz and Götzendorf) in English156 was a welcome

factor, and when combined with the second language English

proficiency of the Austrian participants, created a much appreciated

initial good rapport, which is something similar to the rappoire built up

between relative unknowns in an area of operations.

155 Apart from the civilian accommodation opportunity the author chose, the participation to the course was as comprehensive as that of his military counterparts. 156 All courses at the AUTINT are conducted in English, with English language proficiency of the participants being required so as to aid in facilitating greater ease of cooperation in operations with international partners, as described in NATO STANAG 6001.

113

6.3. Chapter Conclusion:

Based upon the participant observation made while in attendance of the

BHFA conference in 2012 and the CIMIC C / PSO course in 2013, it is

noted that the recommendations made by many speakers at the

conference as well as select civilian contributors to the CIMIC course,

may be influenced towards a distinct disconnect between what is hoped

for in terms of end goals and the realities on the ground with which

NGOs and military contingents in peace support and humanitarian

operations have to deal with.

As the first civilian participant in the Civil-Military Cooperation

course in Peace Support Operations offered by the Austrian Armed

Forces, despite the initial anomalous nature of a civilian participant in

the course, at the completion of the syndicate it was the opinion of the

officer commanding of AUTINT Colonel Claus Amon and the

commander of the CIMIC C /PSO course Major Bernd Skaza in final

examination conditions with the author that the participation was most

appreciated and that involvement of civilian participants in future

iterations of the course was to be supported and encouraged because of

the valuable contributions the civil and military counterparts could make

during the educational process. This was also to be encouraged because

of the perspectives that each side may offer. Austria is a host to the UN

114

and scores of UN chapters with substantial involvement in post conflict,

post natural disaster support and reconstruction, and as such, exploiting

the close proximity of this was judged to be of the utmost importance.

Furthermore, reporting as a civilian among predominantly

military types, the feeling of detachment was perhaps initially felt but

certainly not intended, and as familiarity between myself and my military

participants developed, this was accompanied by a solidarity and support

which was cemented in the coming weeks that was most beneficial for

all concerned in the tasks expected to be completed. In this way, a

friendly cooperation developed between the diverse participants, who

hailed from the full time serving military background, to Austrian

citizens from the part time militia reserve. All participants to the course

were volunteers. Since Austria’s first peacekeeping mission in the Congo

in 1960, the nation has deployed more than 90, 000 Austrians have

voluntarily served in peacekeeping missions and several Austrians

appointed as commanders to peacekeeping operations by the UN

Secretary General.157 As such, together with the ample experience in the

Balkan region, this know-how contributes sturdily to the kind of

conferences hosted by the BHFA annually.

157 Austrian Foreign Ministry.: Austrians in Peacekeeping Operations. Available Online at: http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-policy/international-cooperation/austrians-in-peacekeeping.html

http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-policy/international-cooperation/austrians-in-peacekeeping.html

http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-policy/international-cooperation/austrians-in-peacekeeping.html

115

116

Chapter 7 Concluding Remarks

At the 2012 BHFA, the guest speaker from ECOWAS, Standby Force

Brigadier General Hassan Lai, attended the conference to offer the

African perspective on humanitarian complex emergencies, but at the

same time to hear of the European and also Austrian perspective on the

role of the Austrian military in the similar situations. ECOWAS forces

for their part have been involved in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and in the

Côte d'Ivoire in assistance operations, and may soon be employed in

Mali. Northern Mali at that time had been occupied by Islamist

extremists and secular Tuareg rebels who have rendered the territory

largely ungovernable, and Mali looked to an ECOWAS led plan to

constitute a military force to retake that region. The dynamic situation

called for co-operation between ECOWAS forces, its neighbours, and

with military resources further afield which eventually came in the form

of the French intervention force, and above all else together with

governmental and NGO assistance which will aid those citizens who

find themselves now in a country, divided geographically, politically,

militarily and religiously.

The theme of the 2013 BHFA conference, entitled “Regional

Peacekeeping in West Africa, is solidly in ECOWAS’ area of interest and

responsibility. The conference, which takes place from 09 to 11 October

117

in the same venue, was publicised by the organisers describing peace

operations in West Africa as:

“…characterized by a strong regional involvement and a

comprehensive approach encompassing also humanitarian assistance,

economic reconstruction, security sector reform, peace- and state

building, as well as the protection of cultural property. This multifaceted

task necessitates a coordinated approach of national, regional and

international actors to achieve unity of effort in this complex crisis

management process.”158

In the process of describing the multifaceted constituents and

composition of CIMIC and its derivatives in the civilian sphere from

NATO to its partners, the European Union and United Nations, to the

partnerships built between Austrian NGOs and Bundesheer CIMIC

teams is balanced with the perspectives brought at the academic and

expert level in Austrian government and military facilitated events.

Rietjens and Bollen resonate such a stance, though warn that:

“Integrated strategies and efforts appear to be better suited to the multi-

faceted and multi-level problems than specialized approaches and

strategies, integrated policies such as for instance the 3D (Defence,

Diplomacy and Development) approach the Dutch government has

adopted, can be vulnerable to contradictions and conflicting interests

between the diplomatic, developmental, and military domains.”159

158 Association of Austrian Peacekeepers.: BLUE HELMET FORUM AUSTRIA 2013 Regional Peacekeeping in West Africa. Information Available Online at: http://www.austrian-peacekeepers.at/movie/bhfa.html Date Accessed: 01 October 2013. 159 Hilhorst, D.: Understanding and Guiding Reconstruction Processes. 2008. p. 232.

http://www.austrian-peacekeepers.at/movie/bhfa.html

118

In the Austrian context, it is not insignificant that the

phenomenon of CIMIC reaches even the front page of newspapers. The

Austrian Armed Forces publication Der Soldat published a full front

page article on 27 February 2013 on CIMIC in the Austrian Bundesheer,

entitled “Ausgewählte Projekte bei AUTKON/EUFOR/ALTHEA”160,

where it stressed the importance of CIMIC at the beginning of the new

year ahead to peace support and complex emergency situations as:

“Zusammenfassend kann festgehalten werden, dass in

zukükunftigen Krisenreaktionseinsätzen, unabhängig unter welcher

internationalen Organisation, die zivil-militärischen

Kooperationsmechanismen auf jeden Fall immer ein wesentlicher

Bestandteil der eingesetzten militärischen Kräfte sein werden.”161

From 05 – 08 March 2013, CIMIC Seminar I-13 was conducted

by the Civil-Military Cooperation Branch of the Multinational Corps

Northwest at the Polish Armed Forces 2nd Mechanized Corps’ Club in

Kraków, Poland as a site for the sharing of CIMIC knowledge between

partner countries and preparation for an upcoming multinational

exercise entitled Crystal Eagle 13.162 This event served as a locale to

160 Hor, Dominik.: CIMIC im ÖBH – Ausgewählte Projekte bei AUTCON/EUFOR/ALTHEA. DER SOLDAT – Unabhängige Zeitung für Wehr- und Sicherheitspolitik. No. 04/2013 of 27 February 2013. 161 Translated into English as: “In conclusion, it can be grasped that in future crisis reaction deployments, which are independent under certain international organisations, the civil-military cooperation mechanisms can definitely become a significant component of the employed military forces.” 162 Composed of Denmark, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, United States, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary.

119

discuss latest developments in the field of CIMIC as well as the direct

exchange of updated NATO documents on CIMIC and experiences in

CIMIC between members of a wide CIMIC fraternity. Austrian Armed

Forces Major Bernhard Zöhrer, comprising part of a four person

Austrian delegation to this event, summed up the Austrian observations

of CIMIC well in the value of raising cultural and situational awareness:

“The benefit of this Seminar is for sure the international

atmosphere; you see how other nations approach in one and the same

mission towards the topic, what the procedures or the way of personal

thinking towards the challenge are.”163

At the Nationalfeiertag of 2012, the Bundesheer made it clear

that despite the high frequency of peace support missions being

attended to, humanitarian catastrophe operations are becoming more

and more important.164 As such, the efforts of the Austrian

government, military and its citizens, highlighted here through its civil

and military experience in helping and working together with neighbours

in need, knowledge is built up in the neighbourhood with all actors in it.

This without a doubt can benefit others down the road and even further

afield, as a product of constant willing cooperation with others.

163 Multinational Corps Northeast. Gałyga, Anna.: “Raising CIMIC awareness.” 08 March 2013. Available online at: http://www.mncne.szn.pl/component/content/article/300-march/1004-raising-cimic-awareness Date Accessed: 03 August 2013. 164 Republik Österreich/Bundesminister für Landesverteidigung und Sport. Profis Bringen Sicherheit - Nationalfeiertag 26 October 2013. Leykam Druck GmbH & Co KG, Bickfordstrasse 21, 7201 Neudörfl. 2012. p. 12.

http://www.mncne.szn.pl/component/content/article/300-march/1004-raising-cimic-awareness


120

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ANNEX I Austrian Armed Forces CIMIC C/ PSO Course 2013 Directives

_____

Austrian Armed Forces

International Centre

GRAZ, 7th March 2013

Zl.: S91317/2-AuslEBa/Kdo/AbtCIMIC/2013

CIVIL Military Co-operation

Course for

Peace Support Operations ( CIMIC C/ PSO)-

General Directives

Officer in Charge:

Capt Guenter GRASRUCK

0043 50201 50 23350

Fax: 0043 50201 50 17050

Email: [email protected]

1. Situation:

As scheduled in the Austrian Military Course Program for 2013 and in accordance with the NATO /PfP Program, the Austrian Armed Forces

International Centre (AUTINT) is tasked to organize the 1st CIMIC Course/PSO in the garrison of GRAZ, STYRIA, AUSTRIA (BELGIER Barracks).

2. Mission:

The AUTINT is to run the 1st Austrian CIMIC Course /PSO from 08APR13 until 26APR13 under the direction of the GRAZ based CIMIC Div AUTINT, keep

evident the data of the participants and guarantee qualified CIMIC personnel for ongoing and future missions.

3. Execution:

3.1 Organisation:

Training site: AUTINT/CIMIC Div AUTINT, Building 5

BELGIER Barracks Strassganger Strasse 171

8052 GRAZ, AUSTRIA

Name of course: Civil Military Co-operation Course for Peace Support Operations

(CIMIC C / PSO) Course Classification: Course Number U-358, Course Key X6I

Period: 08th – 26th April 2013 Duty Roster: See annex 1, changes in topics might be possible


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3.2 Personnel:

Course Director: Maj Bernd SKAZA Chief Instructor: Capt Günter GRASRUCK

Dep. Chief Instructor: Capt Marco SPÖRK Admin NCO: WO III Walter HÖDL

QM NCO: WO I Erich RÜCKERT Instructors: Provided by the CIMIC Div AUTINT and Guestspeakers

Participants: We will accept up to 20 students.

Dress code:

In the class/lecture room: Service dress uniform

Outside/exercises:

Battle dress uniform and cold/rain protection clothes

Documents: Course CD with all documents will be provided by the CIMIC Div AUTINT

Parking area for private and military vehicles:

See Annex 2 3.3 Aim of the course

This course is aimed at enabling an officer to carry out CIMIC tasks as a member of a

national (multinational) battalion (contingent) or

national (international) battalion headquarters

3.4 Tasks:

The CIMIC Admin NCO will register data of all personnel applying for this course.

The administration department will support the CIMIC Admin NCO.

The CIMIC Admin NCO will carry out necessary administration for the

application of additional instructors and guest speakers.

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Classroom: Building no. 5, ground floor

3.5 Coordinating instructions:

Arrival

NLT: 080800APR13

(Classroom, building no.5, ground floor) BELGIER-Barracks

Strassganger Strasse 171 8052 GRAZ Building no. 5

Accommodation:

Accommodation for the students will be arranged by the CIMIC Div AUTINT in the GABLENZ - Barracks. Walking time to the GABLENZ - Barracks is about

10 min. For further information contact the CIMIC Admin NCO.

Weather conditions: Recommended for field exercise are cold/rain protection clothes.

Final Exam:

Students will be under constant supervision and appraisal throughout the course. At the end of the course, a board will decide on whether a student

has passed the course or not.

Disciplinary matters: 1st Level: Course Director (§ 13 HDG) 2nd Level: Cdr AUTINT (§ 13 HDG)

4. Service Support:

Catering:

WO I Erich RÜCKERT 08APR13 – 26APR13

Meal times and location:

Inside the BELGIER - Barracks dining facility. Details will be provided at the beginning of the course (acc. Duty Roster).

Course participants will get meal tickets at the beginning of the course.

Medical Support: Will be provided by the military hospital (located in the BELGIER- Barracks, building no. 4, ground floor)

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Overtime Working: According to temporary duty assignment regulations and partly paid by the

student’s parent unit.

Economic directives: The requisite business trips and overtime must be booked with the

COIA 14K0 [eigen.TN] IG31 .

5. Command and Signal:

Austrian Armed Forces International Centre CIMIC Div AUTINT

BELGIER Barracks, Building no. 5 Strassganger Strasse 171

8052 GRAZ

Land line: +43 / (0) 50201 50 23301 or 23310 Cell Phone: +43 / (0)664 622 7831

Fax: +43 / (0) 50201 50 17050 Internet: [email protected]

Annexes: Duty Roster (Annex 1)

Map of BELGIER Barracks (Annex 2)

List of participants (date 07MAR13) (Annex 3)

Addresses:

SKFüKdo/J7 MilKdoNÖ

HTS PiB1 JgB19

FlAB2 AAB7

LuUGschw AUTINT (nachr.)

Students (nachr.) Instructors (nachr.)

The Cdr CIMIC Unit AUT:

Bernd SKAZA, Maj e.h.

(Bernd SKAZA, Maj


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ANNEX II Group photo taken at the Association of Austrian Peacekeepers Blue Helmet

Forum Austria Conference in October 2012 on “Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies - What Role for the Military?” in Vienna.

Author is stood on the third step, fourth from the right.

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ANNEX III

Certificate of Participation to BHFA 2012

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ANNEX IV Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military Cooperation Course / Peace Support

Operations held between 08th – 26th April 2013 in Graz, Styria. Author is stood center.

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ANNEX V Certificate of Completion for Austrian Armed Forces CIMIC C / PSO 2013

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ANNEX VI Ö1 Mittagsjournal vom 18.03.2009 12.00 Uhr Ö1 Mittagsjournal 1200

Ö1 Mittagsjournal (12:00) - Humanitäre Aktivitäten des österr. Bundesheers im Kosovo Theiretzbacher Christian (ORF) Kosovo hat Mitte Februar den ersten Jahrestag seiner Unabhängigkeit gefeiert, einer Unabhängigkeit, die allerdings von Serbien bisher nicht anerkannt wurde. 1999 haben NATO-Truppen interveniert, um die Vertreibung der albanischen Mehrheitsbevölkerung durch Belgrad zu stoppen. Neun Jahre lang stand Kosovo dann unter UN-Verwaltung, die Sicherheit im Land wurde und wird von sogenannten KFOR-Truppen unter Führung der NATO gewährleistet. An dieser Mission ist auch das österreichische Bundesheer beteiligt. Derzeit sind mehr als 600 österreichische Soldaten im Kosovo stationiert, und bis April noch kommandiert auch ein österreichischer Brigadegeneral die gesamte Einsatztruppe in der Südregion des Kosovo. Jetzt, ein Jahr nach der Unabhängigkeitserklärung, soll allerdings die internationale Militärpräsenz verringert werden, lokale kosovarische Behörden müssen stärker für die Sicherheit sorgen. Helmut Opletal hat kürzlich im Kosovo das österreichische Bundesheer besucht und sich auch die humanitären Aktivitäten unserer Soldaten angesehen.

Opletal Helmut (ORF) Dies ist kein Alarm im Militärcamp Casablanca, wo Österreichs Kosovo- Soldaten stationiert sind, sondern die Pausenglocke in der technischen Schule Skender Lurasi ein paar Kilometer weiter. Aber auch sie hat etwas mit dem Bundesheer zu tun. Seit 2004 erhält diese Fachschule, wo mehr als elfhundert Schüler Elektrotechnik, Maschinenbau oder Informatik erlernen Hilfe im Rahmen der sogenannten CIMIC, wie das Armeekürzel für zivilmilitärische Zusammenarbeit heißt. Das Geld für dieses und andere Projekte kommt von privaten Spenden und als staatliche österreichische Hilfe. Aber das Bundesheer stellt Know-how und Transportkapazitäten zur Verfügung und verfolgt mit solchen Goodwill-Aktivitäten durchaus auch Ziele im Rahmen seines ursprünglichen Auftrags, nämlich für Sicherheit und Frieden zusorgen, so der verantwortliche Hauptmann Gerhard Friedl.

Friedl Gerhard (Österreichisches Bundesheer) Wir versuchen das Ansehen KFOR und unseres Bataillons zu steigern und auch die Kooperationsbereitschaft der Bevölkerung und ihrer Repräsentanten zu erhöhen, das ist an und für sich ein Geschäft mit hoffentlich beiderseitigem Nutzen.

Opletal Helmut (ORF) Seit 1999 ist jetzt das Bundesheer beim mittlerweile größten und wichtigsten Auslandseinsatz engagiert. Von Anfang an ging es darum, neue Volksgruppenkonflikte zu vermeiden, so der österreichische Presseoffizier Hauptmann Pierre Kugelweiß.

Kugelweiß Pierre (Österreichisches Bundesheer) Also der Rahmenauftrag ist Sicherheit im eigenen Verantwortungsberiech herzustellen und die Bewegungsfreiheit, nicht nur für KFOR, sondern auch für die Menschen hier.

Opletal Helmut (ORF) Wobei zum Beispiel bei Objektschutz und Fahrzeugkontrollen schon jetzt immer öfter die Kosovo-Polizei eingebunden ist.

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Kugelweiß Pierre (Österreichisches Bundesheer) Es wird hier ganz bewusst darauf geachtet, dass KFOR nicht mehr in der ersten Reihe steht. Das ist die Aufgabe der Kosovo-Police, und wenn die nicht mehr zu Rande kommt, dann erst soll KFOR tätig werden.

Opletal Helmut (ORF) Allerdings leben im Verantwortungsbereich der Österreicher nach den Gewalttätigkeiten im Zuge des Krieges nur mehr sehr wenige Serben unter der albanischen Mehrheitsbevölkerung. Ein paar Hundert in der Stadt Orahovac sowie in der Enklave Velika Hoca, einem serbischen Dorf über das kürzlich auch der Schriftsteller Peter Handke eine Art Reportage verfasst hat. Oberstleutnant Manfred Hofer, der Kommandant der Österreicher war schon vorher einmal im Kosovo und er kann vergleichen.

Hofer Manfred (Bundesheer) Nach meinen Erfahrungen ist das Zusammenleben wesentlich besser als noch vor einigen Jahren Beispiel die Enklave Velika Hoca - dort leben zirka 650 Serben. Wir haben also damals noch die Menschen in Einkaufszentren außerhalb von Velika Hoca gebracht, damit sie dort ihre Einkäufe erledigen können. Diese rund um die Uhr-Bewachung ist jetzt nicht mehr notwendig. Sie fahren jetzt ohne irgendwelche Zwischenfälle nach Suva Reka, nach Orachovac und so weiter einkaufen. Das wäre also vor einigen Jahren noch undenkbar gewesen.

Opletal Helmut (ORF) Genaue Details über die geplante Reduzierung der KFOR-Truppe im Kosovo gibt es noch nicht. Aber der österreichische Kommandant der Südregion Brigadier Thomas Starlinger, der auch rund 2000 Deutsche sowie türkische, bulgarische und Schweizer Einheiten befehligt, kann den geplanten Rückzug bestätigen.

Starlinger Thomas (Österreichisches Bundesheer) Mit Jahresende kann man durchaus rechnen, dass von der derzeitigen Anzahl von zirka 15 000 KFOR-Soldaten insgesamt im Kosovo nur mehr die Hälfte der Soldaten im Kosovo sein wird.

Opletal Helmut (ORF) Es ist fast eine ironische Geschichte, denn vor allem in Belgrad ist man über den Abzug der von der Nato geführten Einheiten von diversen Krisenherden im Kosovo nicht erfreut, denn an deren Stelle sollen jetzt Vertreter des neuen von Serbien nicht anerkannten Staates treten. Brigadier Starlinger. Starlinger Thomas (Österreichisches Bundesheer) Die Serben hätten natürlich gerne, dass KFOR die nächsten Jahrzehnt noch da bleibt, aber die kosovarische Regierung und die kosovarischen Autoritäten jetzt gefordert sind, auch mit Minderheiten in ihrem Land lernen umzugehen.

Theiretzbacher Christian (ORF) Sagt Bundesheerbrigadier Starlinger am Ende dieser Reportage von Helmut Opletal und damit wieder zurück nach Österreich.

Der gegenständliche Text ist eine Abschrift eines audiovisuellen Beitrags. Aufgrund der medienspezifischen Charakteristik von Radio- und Fernsehbeiträgen kann es bei der Transkription zu formalen Abweichungen in der sprachlichen Abbildung zwischen dem Text und dem audiovisuellen Original kommen. Die inhaltliche Verantwortung liegt bei der APA DeFacto Datenbank & Contentmanagement GmbH.

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Annex VII Austrian Ministry of Defence and Sport – Press Sample

Date Accessed – 25 July 2013

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139

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About the Author

Jacques de Vries is a South African citizen born in the Western Cape town of Somerset West on 22 December 1985. Growing up in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa’s northeast in a rural agricultural setting, he consequently conducted the majority of his primary and secondary schooling in Somerset West and Stellenbosch in the Western Cape respectively. He has conducted his initial university career at the University of Stellenbosch, graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor Degree in International Studies specialising in political science and history, and an Honours Degree cum laude in History specialising in War and Society in 2010. In addition to his academic pursuits, the author has worked on an ad hoc basis in the South African movie industry as a military history content advisor since 2006. After completion of his studies in South Africa, he qualified for the Erasmus Mundus Global Studies – A European Perspective master programme 2011 – 2013 Cohort with a partial tuition waiver and conducted this two year master programme at the University of Leipzig in Germany, and at the University of Vienna, Austria. In the pursuit of his master thesis on Austrian Civil-Military Cooperation, the author was granted the prospect of attending the Austrian Armed Forces Civil-Military Cooperation in Peace Support Operations Staff Course (CIMIC C / PSO) held in the

provincial capital of Styria, Graz during April 2013. As the first civilian participant authorised to attend this three week long course by the Ministry of Defence and Sport, the author was given a valuable insight into military training for civil-military cooperation operations which contributed indispensably to the character of the master thesis. Experiences learned in this course also contributed to an article published by the author in the Austrian Armed Forces newspaper Der Soldat in June 2013. As a South African with an interest in military history and conflict studies, the EMGS – A European Perspective course has served as a valuable experience for further research in the field of history, military history and conflict studies.