Memorial to the First Peacemakers (May 11) The Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek took part in a memorial ceremony in Sereď, which was held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of deployment of the first unit of the Army of the Slovak Republic to the UN peacekeeping mission – UNPROFOR. In 1993, an engineering battalion of the UN peacekeeping force was established and prepared in Sereď. As a part of the solemn ceremony, a memorial was unveiled on the Liberty Square in Sereď as a token of respect and gratitude to the peacemakers and peacekeepers serving under the blue flag. The ceremony was organized by the civic association UN Veteran Slovakia based in Sereď, the non-profit organization Promemoria Veteranorum in cooperation with the Sereď municipality, under the auspices of the Prime Minister of the SR, with the Deputy Speaker of the National Council of the SR Renáta Zmajkovičová, representatives of the local government, generals, members of the AF SR being present. On this occasion, the engineering battalion of the Land Forces in Sereď organized an Open Day event. Visitors had a chance to follow a demonstration of an operation of the demining equipment Božena IV, bridging an obstacle by an armoured vehicle - launched bridge MT-55 in a training area in the premises of the unit, vehicles UAZ 469, PV3S Nav, UNC 750 and UNC 1203, T-815 PMS, Land Rover Defender, Aktis and other equipment of the AF SR.
We shall never forget (May 9) The Minister of Defence of the SR Mar!n Glváč paid tribute to the vic!ms of World War II. The solemn ceremony was held on the occasion of the Day of Victory over fascism at the Slavín memorial. This year, Slovakia and the whole Europe commemorate the 68th anniversary of the end of World War II. ‘It is crucial to commemorate this day and not forget those whose acts of bravery brought about peace,’ stated the Minister of Defence Mar!n Glváč. As he said, it is vital to prevent a historic recurrence of the war events. That is why it is important to ins!ll awareness of World War II events in young people.
● On May 7, the Commander of the Analytical and Support
Center of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection (VAaZC CBR) Lieutenant Colonel Martin Stanko welcomed very special guests, the CBR specialist of the National Guard of the State of Indiana from the USA, Major William M. Poag and First Lieutenant Thomas G. Vorm at the CBR Center in Čereňany. Lieutenant Colonel Martin Stanko informed them about the CBR Training and Testing Center‘s capabilities and they exchanged their experience in training with real toxic chemical substances and discussed a possibility to use the CBR reference chemical laboratory in Zemianske Kostoľany within the international cooperation of the NATO member states. In the following days the American specialists visited the units of the CBR Battalion of the Armed Forces in the Training Military Area of Lešť.
● The 12th Mechanized Battalion in Nitra took part in the preparation of the personnel, ground armaments and equipment, working and parking equipment for summer service from 1 to 6 May. They carried out works on equipment according to the job descriptions and instructions for the use of the equipment in the summer period. They removed the found malfunctions. Last of all, the equipment underwent a final testing. According to the findings by the commission, 94% of the operating equipment of the battalion is at the peak of its activity. ● The Commander of the Regional Command South (RC (S))
The Minister of Defence presented commemora!ve medals to the two surviving Þghters against fascism, Ivan Albini and Vojtech Ozorovský. As for Ivan Albini, the most difficult moment for him was the feeling of helplessness against fascists. ‘They caught us unprepared. They were the difficult !mes. I hold in high esteem those who, under the condi!ons of 1944, were able to revolt and hence contribute to the ul!mate victory,’ he added. On this occasion, Vladimír Turanec and Jaroslav Čelko, who also par!cipated in the Slovak Na!onal Uprising, were promoted to the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel by the Minister of Defence of the SR. In the solemn ceremony took part also the Prime Minister of the SR Robert Fico, members of the Government, representa!ves of diploma!c missions and members of the Slovak Associa!on of An!Fascist Fighters, to include those who had directly par!cipated in the an!-fascist resistance.
Major General Abrams decided to dispatch the Slovak repairmen of the artillery systems D-30 who worked in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan carrying out a tour in particular brigades of the 205th Afghan National Army (ANA). They were repairing the technical malfunctions in the artillery unit of the 2nd Brigade at the Forward Opening Base (FOB) Azizullah. The malfunctions could have caused catastrophic failures of weapons with some fatal consequences. Our soldiers trained the ANA members in the general maintenance of the weapon system and they repaired eight cannon guns. Not only the Commander of RC (S), but also the Commander of the International Joint Command – IJC in Kabul greatly appreciated the performance of our soldiers
● From 6 to 8 May, the final recurrent training of the
members of the ISAF unit for the June Rotation took place in the premises of the 11th Mechanized Battalion in Martin. Specialized lectures, instructions, required testing of the members’ physical preparedness and shooting in the area of Devičany garrison training area was part of the training the ISAF unit completed on 9 May. What the selected members of the Battalion and the Commander of the June Rotation Contingent Lieutenant Colonel Peter Ondrejka regarded as most beneficial was the lecture focused on sharing the experience and the current information from a specific practical training in the area of eployment.
Ceremony in Britain The Remembrance Ceremony was held at the Brookwood International Military Cemetery near London to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the victory over fascism and of the end of World War II. Major General Ivan Schwarz, who grew up in Bytča, attended the ceremony as the last Slovak military veteran of the Western Front living in the Great Britain and as a member of the 311 Czechoslovak bomber squadron. Together with the Defence Attaché of the Slovak Republic with his Office in London Colonel Vladimír Samko, they honored all the Czech and Slovak soldiers who died fighting for freedom of Britain and Czechoslovakia by the laying of wreaths at the memorial of the Czechoslovak victims. 279 Slovaks served in the British Royal Air Force during WWII. 155 Czechs and Slovaks lost their lives in the service for the RAF during WWII.
MoD Yearbook 2012 After a few years break, the Ministry of Defence took up again the tradition in publishing a yearbook with the previous year evaluation. The yearbook 2012 of the Ministry of Defence offers data, facts and evaluation of the year 2012 at the Ministry of Defence of the SR and in the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic in more than 160 pages. The complete version of the MoD eBulletin is part of the lavishly illustrated publication. The yearbook can be found on the MoD website http://www.mosr.sk/rocenka-mo-sr/.
Exposition 20 YEARS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
www.mosr.sk/ebulletin/
(May 6) In the Exposition hall of the University Library in Michalská Street in Bratislava, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek opened an exposition 20 Years of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. ‘It documents the development and all the changes throughout the 20 years in the Armed Forces. It exhibits pictures reminding us that altogether 54 soldiers had died outside the territory of the Slovak Republic while performing their tasks. Equally, it shows pictures depicting soldiers not only as heroes carrying weapons, but also as individuals whose wives, relatives and friends are waiting for them to come home,’ stated the Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. According to the Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lt. Gen. Peter Vojtek, the year 2013 is exceptional for the Armed Forces: ‘Since 1993 we have undergone several reorganizations, we have become a fully professional force
and we have joined the North Atlantic Alliance. Today, we are a fully-fledged and confident partner to the most developed countries in the world.’
eBULLETIN MO SR
As he pointed out, Bratislava was historically known as the old garrison town. Nowadays, however, there is no genuine combat unit: ‘In view of this, I would very much like to stress the meaning and importance of this exposition being held right in the heart of Bratislava.’ The exposition was organized by the Marketing Section of the Communication Division of the Ministry of Defence of the SR. In addition to the photographs illustrating the current development in the Defence Department, visitors can see 3D exhibits documenting the training activities of the soldiers as well as their assistance to civil population and their deployment in operations abroad. Among the exhibits one can also see different uniforms, berets, awards and decorations. The exposition in the Exposition hall of the University Library will be open to public from May 7 to 17, 2013 (except Sunday) from 14.00 hrs to 19.00 hrs.
May 6 - 12, 2013