This year’s delegates’ meeting of the Austrian Officers’ Association (ÖOG) was held in the Feldmarschall Hess command building in St. Pölten. The military commander of Lower Austria, Brigadier Martin Jawurek, also welcomed Defense Minister Thomas Starlinger, Member of the National Council Friedrich Ofenauer and the Chief of the General Staff, General Robert Brieger.
In his speech, Minister Starlinger said that the final fate of the Austrian Armed Forces will be decided in the coming weeks. It was a question of whether the protection of the population and critical infrastructure could be guaranteed. In his speech, General Rober Brieger emphasized that the central task of the Austrian Armed Forces is the military defence of the country. In doing so, the Armed Forces must consistently focus on carrying out a protective operation, as this is the answer to the current hybrid threats. In his activity report, the President of the ÖOG called for the three central concerns of the ÖOG. Firstly, a national solidarity for national defense. Secondly, a return to mandatory military exercises. Thirdly, an annual regular budget of at least 1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
