Fortune favours the prepared (March 17) Following their demanding training in Slovakia, a total of 47 members of the Levice-based 13th Mech Bn departed for Germany to participate in yet another stage of their pre-deployment training before their operational engagement in Afghanistan. Members of the incoming June rotation are readying themselves to handle, to the best of their ability, the tasks assigned to them as part of the SVK Maneuver Strike Force Security Forces Advisory Team (SVK MSF SFAT). Since January the Levice-based team has undertaken several stages of specialized training, geared towards the enhancement of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. In February, the team members gained experience under the supervision of instructors from the Military Police Training and Cynology Centre in Vlkanová. Another training session, conducted under the guidance of Military Police instructors at MTA Lešť, was designed for snipers in an effort to improve their shooting skills. The team's expertise and practical skills were further consolidated during specialized training on their home soil in Levice. ● On 19 March, Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek made a visit to the Repair plant ISTAR, a detached workplace of the Repair and Maintenance Battalion Liptovský Mikuláš. He appreciated the responsible and professional approach of members of the battalion to the performance of tasks in the field of repair, maintenance and production and he emphasized a need to maintain and further develop the acquired capabilities, skills and experience. Sergeant Major Vladimír Beluš, Chief Non-Commissioned Officer of the AF SR, informed of the ambition to transform the Warrant Officer Corps into the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps. ● On 17 March, at Dukla barracks, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Bagačka handed over his position of a Commander of the 13th Mechanized Battalion Levice to Lieutenant Colonel Dušan Michálek. The ceremony took place in the presence Colonel Zoltán Iboš, Deputy Commander of the 1st Mechanized Brigade, who, in the name and on behalf of the Commander of the 1st Mechanized Brigade conveyed appreciation to Colonel Bagačka for a job well done in the position he had held from 2012.
Season is over (March 23) SVK Minister of Defence Mar n Glváč congratulated biathlonist Anastasia Kuzminová on achieving yet another victory at the World Cup. A er winning the women's 10‐kilometre pursuit race, the sportswoman from the Military Sports Club Dukla Banská Bystrica (MSC DBB) maintained a consistently high level of performance and won the women's 12.5‐kilometre mass start race. “In the final stage of the World Cup she reas‐ serted her posi on among the world's best per‐ formers. We could not have wished for a be er ending to this successful season,” concluded SVK Minister of Defence Mar n Glváč. Kuzminová has been a member of MSC DBB since 2009. She has twice won the women's sprint race at the Olympic Games and is a silver Olympic medallist in the women's pursuit race.
Seminar on communication (March 20) Under the auspices of the Office of Defence Attaché of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Institute for Security and Defence Studies at the Armed Forces Academy, a specialized seminar on strategic communication was held in the Club of SVK MoD. The seminar was attended also by experts from the Czech Republic and Croatia. Four expert presentations highlighting the British approach to the issue of strategic communication were made. Apparently, this is the issue of considerable significance, namely in terms of the Slovak engagement in the international crisis management operations, in particular in ISAF operation in Afghanistan.
Soldiers help to put out fire
● On 19 March, 69 years have passed since the 2nd Ukrainian front liberated villages Hájniky and Rybáre, which are currently known as the town of Sliač. Members of the Mixed Wing Sliač, together with representatives of the local government and inhabitants, assembled at the Memorial to the soldiers who died in WWII, to commemorate this event, in which participated also the Romanian troops as part of the 2nd Ukrainian front. Lieutenant Colonel Martin Hronec, Deputy Commander of the Wing and Sergeant Major Michal Czödör, Commanding Non-Commissioned Officer of the Wing, paid tribute to the perished soldiers in a wreath laying ceremony on behalf of all the members of the unit.
(March 21) Members of the SVK Armed Forces helped to put out a fire in the area of the village Betliar. Based on a requirement of the Fire Fighting and Rescue Corps Rožňava, the Armed Forces dispatched a military helicopter with Bambi Bucket. “Naturally, if there is a requirement to employ some other equipment, we are ready to help,” stated Minister of Defence of the SR Martin Glváč. The SVK Armed Forces dispatched a helicopter from the Helicopter wing Prešov to assist in fighting the fire.
● On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the UN Peacekeepig Force in Cyprus, Lt Col Ing. Miroslav Mišovic, Commander of the Slovak contingent to the international Force Military Police Unit in Cyprus, in the presence of Force Provost Marshal Maj Karen L. Miller, awarded medals on 14 March to military policemen, members of the international FMPU, namely to Capt Ing Stanislav Mezeš, MSgt Ivan Hanták, Sgt 1st Class Jaroslav Sobek, Sgt 1st Class Peter Kacvinský, SSgt Matúš Červeňák and SSgt Kvetoslav Sloboda. Lt Col Mišovic extended to them his thanks for their highly professional performance and dedicated service during their six-month-tour and expressed his wish for them to come home safe and sound.
Crackdown brings results
● On 19 and 20 March, at the garrison firing range in Poruba pod Vihorlatom, the 22nd mechanized battalion, being a declared contribution to NRF 2015, continued its preparation with a focus on combat firing practice by the mechanized platoons. Preparation of the units declared to NRF 2015 will continue with training on the level of a company, which will be held in June in the Training Area Lešť. ● Two Polish fighter aircraft MiG-29UB landed on 20 March at the Sliač Air Base, as part of training aimed at landing at foreign airport without any support to be provided by the technical personnel. Equally, training was aimed at preparation for a new take off, being provided only minimal assistance by the technical personnel at the airport. Landing and preparation for a new take off went smooth, without encountering any difficulties, and three hours later the fighter planes flew to their home base Malbork in Poland.
(March 17) That two officers tested positive for alcohol consumption is the result of the initiative to crack down on alcohol abuse by on-duty soldiers, launched by the MOD last year. The current MOD officials have resolutely dealt with the problem of alcohol consumption of on-duty military personnel, having put in place preventive measures even in the past. The Military Police have stepped up their random checks to detect alcohol abuse. CHOD Lt Gen Peter Vojtek has issued orders to commanders to act immediately upon detection of alcohol consumption by on-duty soldiers. Subordinated commands must compulsorily report offences and crimes committed under the influence of alcohol on a monthly basis. Any alcohol abuse during the performance of state service duties is strictly prohibited and constitutes the grounds for an immediate discharge from the SVK Armed Forces. Under such circumstances, those dismissed cease to be entitled to military severance pay, whereas military retirement benefits are not to be paid until such persons reach their retirement age.
SVK President recognizes service members for bravery
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(March 18) Seven members of the SVK Armed Forces received awards from the SVK President and Commander-in-Chief of the SVK Armed Forces, Ivan Gašparovič. The awards ceremony was also attended by Defence Minister Martin Glváč and Chief of Defence Lt Gen Peter Vojtek. The Bravery Awards were conferred in memoriam upon SSgt Daniel Kavuliak, Sgt 1st Class Patrik Fraštia, and Capt Edmund Makovník, who had died while discharging their duties in Afghanistan. The president presented the same awards also to 2nd Degree Pte Martin Chropovský and 2nd Degree Pte Matej Mach, who had been seriously wounded by a member of the Afghan National Army (ANA). SSgt Miroslav Staník, who had returned fire during an attack on KAF and assisted in the rescue of his colleagues, picked up his already second award. Another recognized soldier was Pte 1st Class Milan
Tomlák, who had provided protection and first aid to the wounded personnel during their evacuation by a military vehicle. President Ivan Gašparovič thanked the families of the tragically deceased soldiers for their role in the soldiers' upbringing and bravery. The head of the state expressed his appreciation for being able to recognise soldiers who, while performing their duties and representing their country in conformity with their military oath, had acted bravely and heroically. “Thank you for everything! Your sons and husbands will remain in our hearts and minds forever and will be remembered by the MOD,” said minister Martin Glváč.CHOD Lt Gen Peter Vojtek was proud of the awarded soldiers: “Today's awards are seen as a thank-you to our soldiers for their professionally executed work and for having fully committed their lives, precisely as set out in the military oath.”
eBULLETIN MoD SR
March 17 - 23, 2014