Farewell to Daniel Kavuliak
(July 13) Last goodbye for Daniel Kavuliak, who died carrying out his duties in the ISAF operation, took place at the Roman Catholic Church in Turzovka last Friday. ‘On behalf of the President of the Slovak Republic, the Government of the Slovak Republic and the Department of Defence, as well as on my behalf, please, accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your husband, son and brother,’ Defence Minister Martin Glváč addressed the closest family members of the perished soldier. The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek gave the order to raise Sergeant Daniel Kavuliak in rank in memoriam to Staff Sergeant. Defence Minister awarded Daniel Kavuliak the highest medal of the Department, i.e. the Gold Commemorative Medal of the Slovak Defense Minister of the 1st Grade. The mass was officiated by the military ordinary of the AF of the SR, His Excellency Archbishop Rábek with another four military chaplains. The President of the Slovak Republic and the Chief of the AF of the SR Ivan Gašparovič, Slovak Defence Minister Martin Glváč, the US Ambassador Theodore Sedgwick, the head of the parliamentary committee for defence and security Jaroslav Baška, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek, the family members of the deceased soldier as well as other mourners attended the funeral service accompanied by full Military Honors. More than 100 colleagues of the perished Daniel Kavuliak attended the mass for their deceased friend in the Slovak camp in Kandahar on 13 July.
Daniel Kavuliak (1978 – 2013)
Act of Terrorism (July 9) During training of the Slovak soldiers with the Interna!onal military police in ISAF, Afghanistan on Tuesday, 9 July, a Slovak soldier was shot dead; two other members of the Slovak Armed Forces suffered grievous injuries and four soldiers suffered light injuries. “According to our informa!on, all the wounded soldiers are currently stabilized and I do believe they will recover from the injuries they suffered,” said the Minister of Defence Mar!n Glváč. Despite stringent security measures it was impossible to prevent the tragedy. Mar!n Glváč and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajčák extended their deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased soldier. “I was deeply saddened to hear of the loss of life and of the other soldiers having been wounded,” said the Minister of Defence. The Minister of Foreign Affairs M. Lajčák declared that our country would not feel in!midated by this terrorist a$ack. The engagement of the members of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic in ISAF opera!on is valued very highly abroad. Since 2003, more than 3,000 Slovak soldiers have served in Afghanistan. They would demine airÞelds and roads, build bridges and a school, and now they train and mentor the Afghan soldiers and prepare the country for transi!on to a peace !me. Not even this act of terrorism will not make Slovakia review the stand the country takes and withdraw from Afghanistan. “Terrorists are cowards and only cowards ßee their fate. Slovakia will remain part of Þght against terror; we will maintain our presence in Afghanistan even a%er 2014 when we will perform training and mentoring tasks. Our aim is to deter and preclude such shameful a$acks in the future,” said Lajčák. The assault came as a surprise since Tuesday was the day when Ramadan started and all the Afghan soldiers, who observe Ramadan, stop carrying guns. Guns are only carried by members of the force protec!on units. The a$acker from the ranks of the Afghan Na!onal Forces launched Þre from the watch-tower. According to the Minister Glváč, this malicious and felonious act qualiÞes as a terrorist a$ack, so-called green on blue, that is to say an a$ack of a terrorist inÞltra!ng the Afghan Security Forces. The a$acker was seized by the American soldiers a%er the incident.
Daniel Kavuliak was born on 28 April 1978 in Čadca. He had 3 siblings, 2 brothers and 1 sister. He attended a primary school in Turzovka where he lived throughout his entire life. During 1992 – 1996, Daniel Kavuliak attended School of Woodworking where he studied to become a woodworking operator. He completed his studies as a graduate student. He got first acquainted with the military profession as a student of the Military Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš which he could not complete due to family matters. He worked on and off in the area he had studied. In December 2012, he decided to join the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic into the Rapid Response Battalion of the Ground Forces where he held the position of an anti-tank gunner and an assistant of team commander. He got married in 2007. During his military carrier he carried out tasks away from the Slovak Republic in the military operations UNFICYP in Cyprus in 2008, and ISAF in Afghanistan in 2013. Sergeant Daniel Kavuliak was a good friend, colleague and an exceptional soldier who had carried out his military duties to a high standard.
Wounded soldiers already in Germany (July 14) The American aircraft with two Slovak soldiers on board, who had suffered severe injuries in the attack at our force protection unit on 9 July, landed at the American military base in Ramstein in Germany on Thursday at 11.40. The wounded soldiers were transported to a military hospital near Landstuhle. The transport from Kandahar to Ramstein was provided by the American Armed Forces in the C-17 military aircraft with special adjustments for heavily injured individuals. The aircraft with the wounded soldiers on board took off shortly after 3 a.m. of the Central European Time.
The regional medical centre near Landstuhle is the largest military hospital of the United States Army overseas. The hospital provides the highest health care mostly for wounded soldiers coming from the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. ‘In the American military hospital both soldiers will undergo other medical interventions and will be hospitalized until their state of health enables their transport to Slovakia,’ stated the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek. The severely injured soldier who was shot in the chest underwent a surgery on Sunday. The surgery went well. He still awaits more medical interventions to be carried out. The second soldier with head injuries remains in a medically induced coma. Both soldiers are accompanied by their respective families. The MoD provided for their transport and the accommodation in the military hospital in Germany. Currently, 233 members of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic serve in Afghanistan. They hold positions in the command structures of the ISAF operation, in a force protection unit, in the National Support Element, in the international military police and in the EOD team. The members of the Military Advisory Team from the province of Uruzgan should return to Slovakia after the completion of their tasks by the end of this month.
Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Visit the Wounded Soldiers in Afghanistan
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(July 10) On 10 July, The Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Minister of Defence Martin Glváč visited the soldiers who suffered injuries in the tragic incident in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The government special transported the body of the perished soldier to Slovakia. Robert Fico and Martin Glváč visited the soldiers who had suffered grievous injuries and were informed of their health condition. In the camp where the Slovak contingent is based they met with the Slovak soldiers to extend to them their sympathies and encourage them to continue in their mission. The four soldiers who suffered light injuries did not take up an offer to cease their engagement in the operation and they do remain in Kandahar. On the occasion of the final farewell to the deceased member of the force protection unit, hundreds of soldiers from all the contingents serving in the largest NATO base stood to parade on the Kandahar Airfield. The coffin with the body of Sergeant Kavuliak was carried on an armored ve-
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hicle and escorted by his colleagues from the assaulted squad. The mourning ceremony was performed by a Commander of the Force Protection Unit and by a Military Chaplain. After arrival in Bratislava, a solemn ceremony was held on the Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport with full military honors, in the presence of the representatives of the Slovak Government, Generals of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic and the surviving members of the family. The Minister Glváč expressed his deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased soldier. Equally, he praised the soldiers for the stance they took up when they decided to stay in Afghanistan and continue in performing their tasks, hence demonstrating courage, heroism and bravery. As he added, the attacks of terrorists who infiltrate the Afghan Army are particularly frequent in the period when responsibility for security is handed over to the Afghan forces. The Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico stressed the importance of our engagement in the NATO - led coalition operation in Afghanistan. “This incident shall not change the position of the Slovak Government on the fight against terrorism. The Slovak soldiers will maintain their presence in Afghanistan and they are fully aware of the significance of their mission. If a similar incident be enough to deter us and to make us reconsider our engagement in a fight against terrorism, terrorists would win.”
July 8 - 14, 2013