Paying respects to the memory of General Štefánik (5 May) On 5 May, the State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence, Miloš Koterec, took part in a remembrance ceremony marking the 96th anniversary of the tragic death of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik at the burial mound in Ivanka pri Dunaji. “General Štefánik was a man who shaped our contemporary history. He played a significant role in establishing the first free republic of Slovaks and Czechs, thanks to which we became, for the first time in our history, a state-forming nation, one that was free to develop. Through his admirable diplomacy, Štefánik exercised leverage also on European politics. Therefore, his ideas are relevant even today,” said State Secretary Miloš Koterec. One day earlier, on 4 May, State Secretary Miloš Koterec, commemorated the 96th anniversary of General Štefánik’s tragic death at the Štefánik Memorial on the Danube riverside in Bratislava. As he said, Štefánik formed our contemporary history through his acts of service as a successful diplomat, politician and serviceman. The remembrance event was attended by diplomatic representatives. Being an astronomer, politician, diplomat, soldier, pilot and traveller, Štefánik perished tragically while returning home from Italy on 4 May 1919. His airplane, a Caproni 450 (Ca33 No. 11 495), went down on approach to landing at Ivánka pri Dunaji. ● On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, Major General Roy Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard, made a visit of the Slovak Republic. He was welcomed by Chief of the SVK General Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim. He was introduced into the activities within the framework of cooperation and they exchanged their views on possibilities of joint training of the SVK Armed Forces and the Indiana National Guard. On 6 May, concurrently with their negotiations, Senior NCO of the SVK Armed Forces Command Sergeant Major Vladimír Beluš had a working meeting with the Indiana National Guard State Command Sergeant Major James R. Gordon. ● Brig Gen Miroslav Korba, Commander of the Air Force, welcomed on 6 May Brig Gen Libor Štefánik, Commander of the Air Force of the Army of the Czech Republic, at the combined wing Sliač. The issue they addressed during their short meeting was the cross-border cooperation. In the morning hours they left, on board of the aircraft of the Czech Air Force, for Milan to take part in the 2-day conference of the European countries’ Air Forces commanders EURAC 2015.
Remembering VE Day (8 May) To mark Victory in Europe Day, SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč honoured the sacrifice of all those who lost their lives in the Second World War during a commemoration ceremony at the Háj-Nicovô war cemetery in Liptovský Mikuláš. “Today we pay tribute to the memory of heroes who sacrificed their lives for peace and freedom 70 years ago. It is our obligation to pay our respects to this great sacrifice and cherish it in our hearts and minds,” said the Minister, speaking at the commemoration ceremony. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč awarded the Slovak National Uprising and the End of WWII 70th Anniversary Commemorative Medals to 8 Slovak and 3 Russian surviving participants of national liberation battles. The remembrance event at the Háj-Nicovô war cemetery was attended by SVK President Andrej Kiska, Chairman of the SVK National Council Peter Pellegrini, Prime Minister Robert Fico, other constitutional representatives, diplomatic representatives, as well as by the Slovak Anti-Nazi Combatants Association members and direct participants in the WWII resistance movement. To celebrate Victory in Europe Day, the SVK Armed Forces prepared static and dynamic demonstrations of military equipment; the Institute of Military History staged a display of vintage weapons; and two exhibitions, titled “Second World War in Pictures” and “Important Personalities of Slovak Military History”, were opened in Liptovský Mikuláš. The war cemetery at Liptovský Mikuláš was one of the six sites in Slovakia visited by the SVK President on 8 May. By visiting the sites dedicated to WWII at Dukla, Svidník, Liptovský Mikuláš, Zvolen, Štúrovo and Bratislava, the head of state paid his respects to all combatants who laid down their lives while liberating Slovakia. The solemn commemorations were supported by the Honour Guard of the President of the Slovak Republic.
● On 4- 5 May, the Away Days Meeting of the EU Military Committee took place in Riga, Latvia. The Slovak Republic was represented by Maj Gen Miroslav Kocian, Head of the Office of the Military Representative of the Slovak Republic to Brussels. The event was one of the key military contributions of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. ● On 3 May, at the Memorial to the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, State Secretary of the Slovak Republic Miloš Koterec commemorated the 70th anniversary of the liberation and end of WWII. In a solemn ceremony, he paid tribute to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice in a liberation fight of the largest armed conflict in history and laid down their own lives. At the peak Polom, in honour of those who perished, the Memorial to the Victory of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps was built and unveiled in 1961. Due to the limestone mining, the Memorial was in 1986 removed to the nearby peak Javoriny. ● On 8 – 14 May, in Sereď in the Slovak Republic and in Přerov, Libavá and Kojetín in the Czech Republic, the multinational exercise of the engineering troops dubbed ENGINEER RESCUERS 2015 is being held, aimed at mitigating consequences of the natural disasters. It shall put to the test the capabilities of the engineering units of the SVK Armed Forces and the Army of the Czech Republic, namely in terms of performing the tasks in a joint humanitarian operation, such as removing consequences of the large-scale natural disaster and providing disaster relief to the civilian population on the territories of the both neighbouring countries. ● On 5 – 6 May, in the Training Area of the Military District Lešť, the mortar units of the 12th mechanized battalion underwent training aimed at combat firing , as well as training of the forward observers of the mechanized battalion. Besides the mortar platoon, also the fire support platoons underwent their training in Lešť, as part of the structure of the mechanized companies with the 81-mm mortars. The night firing posed a considerable challenge, and proved to be extremely challenging in terms of aiming and loading the mortars. During the two training days, the forward observers trained guiding and directing the artillery fire.
Congratulations to Martina Hrašnová (10 May) SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč congratulated to Martina Hrašnová on her victory at the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge in Japan’s Kawasaki. Hrašnová won the title with a hammer throw of 74.27m, thus beating the world’s elite sportswomen. “I am always delighted to see the successes of the Dukla Banská Bystrica Military Sports Club representatives at the world’s prestigious events and therefore I extend my cordial congratulations to Martina Hrašnová on her today’s victory. I trust this marks the beginning of a very successful season for her,” said the Minister. With her recent major success, our sportswoman has gained the second place on the world’s hammer throw list, which qualifies her for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and for the Beijing World Championships in August.
Exhibition to mark anniversary of Victory (6 May) In the Garrison Club Trenčín, in the presence of Commander of the Land Forces Brig Gen Ondřej Novosad and resistance movement veterans, the solemn opening of the exhibition 70th anniversary of the end of WWII was held. The exhibition was organized under the auspices of the SVK Minister of Defence, in cooperation with the Garrison Club Trenčín, the State Archives, clubs of the philatelists and numismatists and a club of military history of the antifascist resistance at the Garrison Club. The exhibition opens daily from 9.00 hrs to 17.00 hrs, until 31 May.
Joint training of CBRN specialists (4 May) The US Army greatly appreciated joint training of the Slovak and American CBRN specialists, which was held in Lešť and in Zemianske Kostoľany. The Slovak training areas provided for the American troops a unique opportunity to train in real-life conditions. They underwent also training in the state-of-the-art CBRN facility in Zemianske Kostoľany, where the troops performed tasks in the environment contaminated by live combat agents, under the supervision of the Slovak specialists. The Slovak facility ranks among the unique facilities and is one of the best of its kind in Central Europe. The joint task force was made up of the troops of the CBRN Battalion of the SVK Land Forces, earmarked for the performance of the tasks as part of the declared forces for the 21st group of the mechanized battalion, which shall be on stand-by to perform tasks in 2016, and the 173 Airborne brigade US Army CBRN Reconnaissance platoon.
M. Glváč: We have launched TC Lešť modernization with three leading-edge training facilities
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(7 May) Training Centre Lešť (TC Lešť) has undergone its most extensive modernization in its history. The modernized and upgraded training facilities were launched during an opening ceremony by SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč and Chief of the SVK Armed Forces General Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim. “Today we have opened three new facilities, all funded from the SVK MOD budget. We made it. We make sure that we are meeting our obligation to provide service personnel with a top quality training environment,” said the head of the SVK MOD. He reminded that Training Centre Lešť is also used for training of other security and search & rescue services. On 7 May, the Minister opened a Rampart Infantry Shooting Range and a Demolition and Mine-Laying Range, whose modernimanaged to build new accommodation facilities, because the zation and completion amounted to €3.5 million euros. Also uptraining centre is in great demand by our foreign partners,” exgraded were some training simulators, and a Tent Camp was completed for €1.3 million last year. “It will be used until we have plained the head of the SVK MOD.
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Slovak military engineers contributed to the modernization effort at TC Lešť, which enabled the SVK MOD to make great savings. I will be pleased if we manage, until the end of this year, to allocate more financial resources to fund the modernization of other training facilities in accordance with the requirements of the SVK Armed Forces,” added the Minister. Lt Gen Milan Maxim emphasized that it is always good news for the SVK Armed Forces when there are improvements in the training environment for servicemen and women. He went on to explain that the Lešť Training Area is mainly designed for all special components of the Slovak Republic, not only the military. The Lešť Training Area, unique in its extent and scope, was also appreciated by Maj Gen Martin Umbarger, the Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard. Speaking on this occasion, he pledged the participation of U.S. troops in Exercise Slovak Shield, which is to be held in Slovakia later this year.
May 4 - 10, 2015