Kaisersteinbruch military dog center
The Military Dog Center Kaisersteinbruch (MilHuZ) is the only training and breeding center for military service dogs in Austria and with over 1500 dogs bred and used, the largest Rottweiler breed in the world. It belongs to the area of command of the operational support command. Until 2007 it was called the Military Dog Squadron (MilHuSta).
history
The beginning of the Austrian military dog industry goes back to the year 1914, the beginning of the First World War , when the kk war dog school was founded in Vienna - Währing . After the collapse of the Danube monarchy in 1918, a military dog squadron was only founded 46 years later, in 1964, in Kaisersteinbruch , in the state of Burgenland . The accommodation was made partly in barracks of the bearing 3 of the former POW camp Stalag XVII A . Four German Shepherds served as the basis for the customs guard . The first dog registered in the armed forces (parent role number 1) was the German shepherd male "Haris", the first Rottweiler was the bitch "Assi von der Mais" (parent role number 22). As a result, the military dog squad played a key role in the Rottweiler breed. Initially housed in Camp II (a barracks camp), the military dog unit was expanded in terms of infrastructure, including several kennels . With the construction of a combined kennel and administrative building in 1990, the infrastructure reached the highest level of expansion. The buildings, with an area of about eight hectares, corresponding to the modern standards of animal welfare just dog ownership . This enables the military dog squadron to keep approx. 110 dogs at the same time. In 2007 the military dog squadron was renamed the Military Dog Center. The military dog center achieved numerous successes in rescue and service dog championships, just as many national and breed group victories. On May 31, 2007 the center was named "Unit of the Year", the best and most innovative unit of the armed forces in 2007.
Tasks and commitment
Military dogs are currently used by the land forces ( military patrol & police command , military training areas), the operational support command, the armaments and defense technology office, the army intelligence office , the special forces command and the foreign contingents. Dogs are used for guarding in areas of the highest security level, such as technical systems, airports, ammunition depots and restricted areas. Search dogs are also trained to find drugs and explosives . They are also used by the UN contingent in the troop separation zones between Syria and Israel and in the Balkans (four dogs are constantly deployed abroad on the Golan Heights and in Kosovo ). Due to various plans and projects (crowd and riot control, mine search, rescue dogs, ...), military dogs are increasingly being used abroad.
Races and training
Using the imprinting phases, the puppies are playfully prepared for their future tasks by their own staff from the 5th week of life. The extensive range includes getting to know their environment and various environmental influences, as well as socializing with other dogs and people. A few months before the start of the course, the dog handler receives his future service dog to get used to. The suitability for use as a military dog is given, if all health and physical conditions are correct, with at the earliest twelve and an average of 15 months. Then the actual training begins, which takes place twice a year at the military dog center in Kaisersteinbruch over a period of about three months and is carried out by the dog handler himself, under the supervision and guidance of the training staff. In addition to attaining the highest level of training necessary for performing the duties in the service, the dog is fully integrated into the dog handler's family and lives in his living group. The family must be able to take care of the dog at short notice in the event that the handler becomes ill.
At the end of its service life, which is around ten years old depending on the stress, the military dog becomes the private property of the dog handler. He then receives a new dog from the military dog center to get used to, completes the next course with it, and then goes back to work at his office. Dog handlers and military dogs therefore form an inseparable unit and are always used together. The dog baptism - putting on the service dog tag - is the symbolic act of taking young dogs into the service of the armed forces.
A total of around 2000 dogs have been registered so far, of which around 1500 Rottweilers are homegrown. This breed of dog makes up about 90% of the total dog population. There are currently around 250 military dogs in the armed forces, around 100 of which are in the military dog center. In addition, the German shepherd , Belgian shepherd and Dutch shepherd breeds are trained. All dogs in service once a year by the military center for dogs, a veterinarian and a charge of military security officer checked. The dog's readiness for action and the state of health are assessed, as is the dog handler's knowledge of security and security services.
Center and staff
The center consists of a commanding officer and 33 servants, including 10 women. The military dog center is responsible in particular for the breeding, rearing, purchase, preliminary training, accommodation and care of military dogs, implementation of military dog handler courses, keeping records of military dogs in the state of the armed forces, carrying out the annual commission review of all military dogs of the armed forces in cooperation with the operational support command of tasks in the area of public relations, specialist reporting, participation in the creation of relevant guidelines and regulations, participation in the purchase and sale of dogs and in the deployment of personnel at home and abroad, the handling of all supply-related matters for the military dogs in their herd , ongoing dealing with technical issues arising from the keeping, training and further training of military dogs, implementation of special missions (missions abroad, association exercises, assistance missions, ...) as well as di e Maintaining contact with cynological institutions and consumers.
In addition to the training of the dogs, the training of the dog handler is also given great importance. Before a future dog handler can begin training, he has to undergo a 14-day check. Here he goes through several stations that instruct him in the feeding, care and training basics of a dog. In addition, he is checked for his physical and psychological resilience by the Army Psychological Service for 24 hours under sleep deprivation and heavy physical strain. A final test of what has been learned completes the program and decides on admission to participation in the military dog handler course. The basic course for military dog handlers in guard and security service lasts twelve weeks, the training for special dog handlers a further three months.
To ensure its task as the central competence center for military dogs in the armed forces, the military dog center has the organizational elements command, training group, kennel master and feed master . Above all, the command is responsible for supervising the specialist personnel who are responsible for the areas of breeding, rearing, preliminary and training as well as keeping the military dogs. In addition, it represents the military dog center externally, above all in commissions and meetings, in the purchase and sale as well as in the elimination of military dogs and in the planning and implementation of all cynological activities. The teaching group includes the staff responsible for dog training and breeding planning, who are responsible for special teaching activities in the context of dog handler courses as well as initiating and monitoring breeding measures. The kennel master and his staff are responsible for the supervision, control and maintenance of the entire kennel facilities with regard to safety and functionality as well as arranging the necessary veterinary measures. In particular, it is decisive in the preparation of breeding measures, but above all in rearing. The feed master is responsible for the procurement, storage, quality control, verification, management and preparation of the feed.
future
The military dog center in Kaisersteinbruch is one of the world's leading institutions for breeding military dogs. So far, guard dogs for guard duties in the highest security level have formed the main component of the domestic military dog system. In the future, special dogs will be added to cope with complex tasks - also in combat units. In the implementation of the operational concept, the specialized military dog handler will in future help shape the image of Austrian operational units. The first steps in this direction have already been taken with military dogs from the military patrol , the hunting command and at UNDOF as well as with emergency dogs at KFOR / EUFOR . As part of the Forces for International Operations (KIOP), two squad presence dog groups are set up. Projects such as rescue dogs for AFDRU, minesweeping dogs for EOD teams and special action dogs for the hunting command are still waiting to be implemented.
Others
It is already a tradition that godparents are provided by military dogs from the highest representatives of politics, clergy, art and culture, including ex-defense minister Norbert Darabos and Burgenland's ex-governor Hans Niessl .
See also
Web links
- Military dog center. on the website of the Austrian Armed Forces
- [1] 2016 Rochus celebration in Kaisersteinbruch - military news
- [2] 2018 ORF visits the Kaisersteinbruch military dog center youtube
- [3] 2019 The largest Rottweiler breed in the world in Kaisersteinbruch
Coordinates: 47 ° 59 ′ 17.6 " N , 16 ° 42 ′ 2.2" E