The personnel that has now been announced fits in well with the recent efforts by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) to make the army more female. Just a few days ago, she announced that she would introduce a kind of voluntary military service for women in order to give them the opportunity to start directly in the careers of the teams in a one-year orientation phase – the eXXpress reported. So far, only direct engagements for women as NCOs or officers have been possible.
Verena Platter went this way and worked her way up. As a captain, she was already deputy battalion commander before she was assigned to an EU military staff for four years. In Brussels she was responsible for the training missions in Africa at the “Military Planning and Conduct Capability” (MPCC).
When she was appointed, Minister Tanner emphasized that Verena Platter should also be a “role model” for women in the army. However, she owes her promotion to battalion commander to her previous military achievements.