On 22 Feb 2018 the Austrian Minister of Defence, Mario Kunasek, visited EUFOR Headquarters in Camp Butmir. He was accompanied by the Chief of Defence of the Armed Forces of Austria, General Othmar Commenda. On arrival they were greeted with an Honour Guard from the Multinational Battalion, the EUFOR manoeuvre element in theatre. They met with Commander EUFOR, Major General Anton Waldner, to receive an update on Operation Althea.
They discussed the current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and the cooperation with the Armed Forces of BiH. The Defence Minister, Mario Kunasek, underlined the importance of the Federal Republic of Austria as one of the largest troop contributors to EUFOR Operation Althea. The Minister understands from his own experience the practical contribution that Austrian military personnel continue to make to the continued peace in BiH, having served as a soldier in the AUTCON 7 under SFOR in 1999.
Afterwards the Minister of Defence visited and spoke with members of the EUFOR Austrian contingent. Therefore he visited all the major elements including Austrian troops at Camp Butmir such as the HQ, Medical Centre, Aviation Detachment and the Multinational Battalion. In addition to their contribution to EUFOR within Camp Butmir, Austria provides personnel to run three EUFOR LOT Houses and an Embedded Advisory Team in the northeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).