Limburg uses soldiers as boa in rural areas | Inland

The soldiers are trained in their spare time and then deployed flexibly, a spokesman for the province explained on Friday. The work experience that the soldier gains as a boa can be beneficial when looking for a new job at the province or municipalities, according to the spokesman. This is particularly interesting for people with an expiring defense contract. One of the advantages, according to the spokesperson, is that these people have skills that are beneficial for working in the countryside. During training and deployment as a boa, these people can still be employed as soldiers.

The deployed soldiers then have two employers. As soldiers they work for defense, as boa for the province. “The advantage is that this offers development opportunities for soldiers and they increase their chances on the labor market,” said the province. “In addition, the province will have access to additional investigating officers, who will also bring their experience and insights from the Ministry of Defense.”

Poaching and dumping waste

The so-called Green Brigade in Limburg currently has six boas that take action against poaching and dumping of waste and supervise recreation. The ten boas from Oirschot will be added as reservist on a flexible basis. “That means that we call them up when we need extra people, for example on weekends, at illegal parties in quarries or illegal fishing. They are also compensated for the extra hours in addition to their regular job as a soldier. ”

Within the 13 Light Brigade in Oirschot, the recruitment of personnel for the ten vacancies as green reservist will soon start. After a selection procedure, the training as a boa will start in early 2021. The province pays for the training and also provides uniform, equipment and technical facilities that the green reservists need in their work. The flexible boas can get started in mid-2021.

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