Davos:
Jannik Plump wanted to join the army, but suffered a severe concussion playing ice hockey a few years ago, but that didn’t stop him from his goal.
He joined the Civil Defense and is now helping the Swiss military set up an evacuation train for every event in this Swiss ski resort during the World Economic Forum’s five-day annual meeting starting Monday.
Plump is one of thousands of security personnel on duty, including up to 5,000 from the Swiss military and hundreds of police officers, who have turned this small town into a fortress to ensure the safety of thousands of leaders from around the world. a week.
The evacuation train set up by 26-year-old Plump is deployed when the streets are impassable and the injured must be transported from the site.
Likewise, there is Gil Roach, a sergeant and deputy platoon commander. He and his team have built gratings and platforms and receive support from sappers, ramp pontoons and rescuers when needed.
While Davos hasn’t seen a single major security breach in more than 50 years of hosting the WEF meeting, insiders say the military cog here has always been the best when it comes to cross-unit coordination.
In the case of Roach, he is also a native of Davos and as a child he always wanted to serve the WEF in military uniform when he saw soldiers working around the clock. Now this 21-year-old is living his childhood dream.
Among other installations set up here by the military, the ‘San Hist’ is erected if a plane crashes over Davos or if there is another major accident, such as a terrorist attack.
Because Davos hospital can quickly become overloaded in such a scenario, immediate support is provided by the army and its specialists, who have set up an inspection and rescue center for this purpose.
Service dogs also support the men and women of the military in their security efforts.
According to the Swiss military, they started work for the WEF meeting before Christmas and the government plans to deploy up to 5,000 personnel between January 10 and 26.
In the assistance service, members of the military are authorized to use coercive measures by the police to carry out respective orders.
The Air Force is responsible for airspace safety. In addition to the air police service, it also carries out surveillance flights and air transports of persons protected under international law on behalf of the federal government.
With permanent patrols, armed fighter jets during conference times, air defenses on the ground, additional radars, increased surveillance of the airspace and 24-hour air police services (throughout Switzerland), safety in the airspace is guaranteed, according to the Swiss government.
This in close cooperation with the partners from Austria and Italy.
Restrictions on airspace over Davos are in place until January 21, one day after the end of the meeting.
Approaches and departures to the regional airports and heliports are based on special rules and procedures developed by the Air Force in conjunction with the Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA). A permit is required for all flights.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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