History

The „International Working Group Gaminger Initiative“ is the alliance of Central European Officers Associations and Reserve Officers Associations. It was founded on May 28th, 1995 and has its origin in the „Gaming Talks“, named after the medieval Carthusian monastery in Gaming, Austria, where they were held. The “Gaming Talks” were started, after a first founding meeting in 1989 between Austria, Switzerland and Germany, by the Austrian Officers Association in 1990, shortly before the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. Their original goal was to bring together the military and reserve officers associations of Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland with the Central European military and reservists associations, which were formed after the political change (the so called „Wende“). In close cooperation with politicians and active soldiers, the “Gaming Talks” aimed to establish a trustworthy base for mutual information and cooperation.

On July 27th, 2004, the country delegates of GAMINGER INITIATIVE decided in favour of a reorientation. The original principles are thus no longer the ultimate goal of the association.

The GAMINGER INITIATIVE is focussed on important issues of European security policy and military affairs. It is a regional, Middle-European platform of their officers- and reservists associations, which are accepted from policy and armed forces in their countries. The GAMINGER INITIATIVE is at work on a level under policy and armed forces in the sense of national and European defence capability. Main emphasis is the role of reservists in more and more professionalized armed forces and the role of armed forces in Europe. The GAMINGER  INITIATIVE makes a contribution, that the very reduced armed forces can hold the contact to the society and that the required specialists and reservists are educated well.