We must not forget the heroism of WWII veterans (11 March) On Wednesday and Thursday, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, the SVK MOD awarded commemorative medals to more than 330 participants of liberation battles. “Their lifetime attitudes and deeds are worth of respect, admiration and recognition. Nonetheless, our tribute also belongs to those who are no longer among us. Their decisiveness and inner strength were much greater than natural human fear, for which they rightly deserve to be recognized,” claimed SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. “Now it is up to us, the younger ones, to never forget this and to cherish their deeds, pride and courage as an inspiration and moral basis for the future years,” he emphasized. The SVK MOD has been cooperating with municipalities, state administration bodies and other organizations in hosting numerous events by which we are commemorating the victory over Nazism. The 70th Anniversary of the End of WWII Commemorative Medals will be awarded to 1,715 veterans. The persons to be distinguished are all the surviving participants of the anti-Nazi resistance movement. ● On 11 March, the State Secretary of SVK MoD Miloš Koterec met in Krakow with the Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland Robert Kupiecki. They evaluated bilateral defence cooperation, in particular cooperation of the armed forces in the field of safeguarding airspace, with a focus on tangible projects in the military and technical fields. The UnderSecretary of State reaffirmed that the Polish pilots are most interested in the idea of undergoing simulator training at Sliač. ● On 11 – 12 March, a specialized tactical exercise RED FLAG 2015 was held at the training area Váh in Sereď. Under the lead of Maj František Mihalovič, Deputy Commander of Sereď-based engineer battalion, members of the three companies and a dressing station of the engineer battalion practiced the activities to be performed by the engineer divisions and groups in providing engineer support of the manoeuvre units. Commander of the battalion Lt Col Dalibor Jelínek concluded that despite adverse weather the high level of performance was maintained and the goals and tasks of the exercise were fully met.
Visit from Austria (11 March) At the meeting with his Slovak counterpart Martin Glváč, Austrian Federal Minister of Defence Gerald Klug expressed his appreciation of the state-of-the-art CBRN Training and Testing Centre in Zemianske Kostoľany. At this unique centre, which provides training with real toxic and chemical substances, a total of 58 Austrian specialists on toxic chemical substances detection and decontamination have been undergoing drills. “Having visited our troops exercising at Zemianske Kostoľany, I appreciate the professionalism of your specialists and the quality of the training grounds,” remarked Austrian Federal Minister of Defence and Sports Gerald Klug. “Our training centres and facilities are cuttingedge and we are pleased that foreign partners are interested in using them. Our CBRN troops are recognized experts and I have no doubt that the expertise they will pass on to the Austrian soldiers will be of benefit to them,” said SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. He also emphasized that members of the Austrian Armed Forces will again participate in the international Toxic Valley 2015 exercise in Slovakia. Austrian troops will also take part in the joint JCET exercise at the Training Centre Lešť on the turn of April and May. The ministers discussed, among other things, cooperation between Slovakia and Austria in the field of international crisis management.
Zuzulová excellent again
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(14 March) SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč congratulated the skier Veronika Velez Zuzulová on her 2nd place in the women’s FIS Alpine Ski World Cup slalom in Are, Sweden. After her recent success at the World Championships in Beaver Creek, USA, and the World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia, Zuzulová again excellently represented the Dukla Military Sports Club as well as the Slovak Republic. “This is the third outstanding placement over the past month that Veronika has achieved in the slalom. I can only extend my congratulations to her again. It is great that at the World Cup finals she will be starting among the top ‘seven’. I believe this will bring even more luck to her,” said Martin Glváč. Veronika Velez Zuzulová is the 2001 Junior Slalom World Champion and double winner of the World Cup slalom. Her best position at the Senior World Championships so far is the 4th place.
● On 10 – 12 March, a rehearsal of activation of the declared contribution to NRF 2015 was held, which contribution is in a state of readiness this year. The rehearsal put to the test the means of notification of the designated persons, the way of establishing liaison and co-ordination with the supply bases and transporters, the processing of documentation and control of materiel. In the rehearsal took part the units earmarked for NRF 2015, mostly from the 22nd mechanized battalion Michalovce. ● In the second week of March, the members of the 11th mechanized battalion Martin, earmarked for the IR unit Althea, underwent a final specialized exercise in the training centre Lešť. The aim of the exercise was to practice a wide range of capabilities: firing preparation in a built-up area, formation of cordons, tactical search and clearing of installations and a crowd control. The preparation will be completed by the specialized tactical exercise in the second half of March. ● On 2 – 6 March, as a part of preparation of the members of the V4 EU Battle Group, initial training aimed at the assessment of the radiological and chemical situation was held in the premises of CBRN Centre in Rožňava-based CBRN battalion, in compliance with SPJ-3-3-RCHBO.The objective of training was to ensure that the troops are sufficiently trained, qualified and prepared to perform tasks of V4 EU BG in the period from 1 January 2016 until 30 June 2016.
Increasing interest in AFA
(15 March) The young people show increasing interest in military career. 633 secondary school students have lodged application to study at the Armed Forces Academy of Gen Milan Rastislav Štefánik, based in Liptovský Mikuláš, which is seven-times more than the number of students who will be enrolled. “Mass-media are flooded with information that men refuse to do military contingency service and evince no interest in providing assistance should emergency situation arise. The interest in studying at our military academy stands as testimony to the fact that the reality is different and that the young people are interested in military career,” said SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. The tests from English and mathematics will be held on 1 – 4 June. “We only invite those applicants who have passed the tests aimed at the psychological and physical condition,” explained Brig Gen Boris Ďurkech, Rector of AFA, and added that the students are in particular interested in the study program Management of military organization.
Air Force look back
(10 March) A command meeting of the Commander of SVK Land Forces was held in the premises of the Air Force Command HQ in the presence of the top officials of the Air Force Command HQ, subordinated units and the invited guests. Brig Gen Miroslav Korba evaluated performance of tasks of the Air Force in the training year 2014. He highlighted the irreplaceable role of the Air Force in the domestic crisis management, namely with respect to the assistance to the civilian population, referring to the fact that also in 2014 the greatest deal of responsibility was placed with the helicopter wing. The command meeting was graced with the presence of Chief of the General Staff of the SVK Armed Forces Lt Gen Milan Maxim, Director of the SVK MOD’s Military Aviation Authority Ing. Jozef Dunaj, Chief Flight Safety Inspector Col Ján Salaj and Chief Non-Commissioned Officer of the SVK Armed Forces Command Sergeant Major Vladimír Beluš. Prior to the opening of the meeting, Commander of the Land Forces handed over the Plaquette of the Best Non-Commissioned Officer of the Air Force for the training year 2014 to Staff Sergeant Karol Adamčík from the helicopter wing Prešov, and the Badge of the Best Private of the Air Force for the training year 2014 to Cpl Ivan Cmark from the Anti-aircraft missile brigade Nitra.
5th Regiment – Mission Afghanistan
● After the initial stage of preparation for the international exercise SLOVAK SHIELD 2015, which is to be held in the second half of the year, the initial Planning Conference was held on 12 March in Trenčín, attended by the foreign delegations from the US, Hungary and the Czech Republic. SLOVAK SHIELD 2015 will be a series of training activities, based on the common scenario, which activities will provide training opportunities for all the levels of command and control in the SVK Armed Forces. The theme of the exercise will be the Multinational Battalion Group in a joint NATO operation in support of maintaining security and protection of the territorial integrity of NATO countries under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. ● On 4 March, in the presence of Deputy Commander of the SVK Land Forces Brig Gen Juraj Krištofovič, the evaluation of the performance of main tasks and objectives stipulated for 2014 was held in Rožňava at the command meeting under the auspices of the Commander of the Chemical, biological and radiological protection battalion (CBRN bttn). Col Oliver Toderiška, Commander of the battalion, evaluated the training year 2014 and highlighted the goals and key tasks to be performed by the CBRN bttn in 2015, as well as the means how to achieve the objectives. He emphasized that the level of performance of the tasks in the past training year was very high in spite of the challenging conditions that were frequently subject to change. ● On 2 – 6 March, training of the tank company was held in the premises of MCBT Martin under the lead of Capt Jozef Horváth, Commander of the tank company of the 21st combined mechanized battalion Trebišov. The theme of training was Manoeuvring a fighting vehicle to overcome a water obstacle. The members of the tank company practiced movement under water with a use of a rescue device ZP-10. ● On 3 – 5 March, a course aimed at the first aid was held at the Training, Education and Specialized Preparation Section of the Specialized Medical and Veterinary Activities’ Division of the Surgeon General Office Ružomberok, workplace Liptovský Mikuláš. The main focus of the course was on practicing the dressing techniques and on CPR.
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(11 March) The premiere of a documentary entitled 5th Regiment – Mission Afghanistan (produced by Tomáš Sládeček and directed by Peter Kaštíl), which provides an insight into the Žilina-based 5th Special Forces Regiment’s operations, took place on Wednesday in Žilina. The authors dedicated the film to the memory of two SVK soldiers, Capt (posthumously) Eduard Makovník and SFC (posthumously) Patrik Fraštia, who had lost their lives while serving in Afghanistan. According to the director, the documentary partly unveils the operations of the Special Forces units from Žilina, while giving the viewers a space to form their own opinions on the troops’ engagement. The SVK Chief of the General Staff, Lt Gen Milan Maxim emphasized that the reality is even a bit tougher than the documentary itself. Col Ľubomír Šebo, 5th Special Forces Regiment Commander, talked about the loss of the two mission members as well as about the traces the tragedy had left behind. “For many years we had seemed to be bullet-proof, nothing had ever happened to us and, despite this, we received such a blow. However, the important thing is that we have been able to come to terms with it psychologically. You can always tell if a person has been trained up to standard, if they have attended courses, shooting and tactical drills, or coordination training exercises with our partners. But you can never see what is going on inside the person. Yet we’ve managed to deal with this and now we are stronger than ever before,” concluded the commander of the 5th Special Forces Regiment.
March 9 - 15, 2015