The Austrian Officers' Association (ÖOG) has once again sharply criticized the personnel situation in the Austrian Armed Forces. According to President Brigadier Erich Cibulka, the lack of qualified personnel, particularly in the areas of air traffic controllers and air defense, is leading to significant security risks. Military leaders and experts have been warning for years about the dramatic personnel shortages, which are being exacerbated by increasing retirements and people moving to better-paid civilian jobs.
The situation is particularly serious in the militia, whose membership numbers have fallen sharply since the abolition of compulsory military exercises. According to Cibulka, the Austrian army consists of a force that "exists on paper" and is not sufficiently prepared and trained in an emergency.
The Officers' Association is therefore calling on the new government to consistently continue the defense budget and to sustainably increase personnel. Three specific demands were made: an increase in the defense budget to 2% of GDP by 2028, an increase in the number of personnel in the Austrian Armed Forces (ÖBH) in peacetime and during operations, and ensuring that the ÖBH is capable of military national defense after a possible mobilization. Cibulka describes political responsibility and the need to remedy these structural deficits as essential for national security.
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