Training in the motor pool?

Soldier’s sports hall is still a long time coming

Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) tended to take cover when answering questions about the new military sports hall in Langenlebarn.(Bild: P. Huber GEORG HOCHMUTH Krone KREATIV,)

The airbase in Langenlebarn is still called Brumowski - but it's not just the name that is being disputed here, there are also disputes about the sanitary facilities. A response to an inquiry from the ministry recently did not shed much light on the matter.

The Austrian Armed Forces are investing millions of euros in a new air base in Langenlebarn. However, the soldiers on site currently have to train in garages as the sports halls also need to be renovated. Without adequate sanitary facilities, as the Freedom Party criticized. As reported, ÖVP National Councillor Johann Höfinger rode to the defense, also emphasizing the imminent expansion of the sports facilities. When exactly this will happen, however, remained open.

Criticism of "medium-term" implementation
So the FPÖ wanted to know this in a parliamentary question from Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP). The answer is vague, speaking of "medium-term implementation" and noting "that there is a sufficient number of showers, washrooms and toilet facilities throughout the property". In the country's largest garrison, however, the distances are often longer.

New name causes resentment
On site, however, the staff in green have been grabbing their heads a lot recently anyway, even if it's not about saluting the military authorities. The renaming of the Brumowski airbase has not exactly met with much approval from those in uniform. The fact that two godfathers were chosen, the Christian-social pillar saint Leopold Figl and the Pope's pilot Othmar Pabisch, is known to have led to an unwieldy double name for the "Black Hawk" barracks.