Lešť saw exercise of military policemen from 4 countries (12 May) On 11 – 15 May, a command staff exercise was conducted on the premises of the Training Center in Lešť, with the members of the Military Police Multinational Battalion Headquarters taking part in the exercise. During the exercise, the participants were visited by 1st Deputy Chief of the SVK General Staff Lt Gen Peter Gajdoš, Chief of the Polish Military Police Brig Gen Mirowlaw Rozmus, Director of the Slovak Military Police Col Milan Hamar, Director of the Croatian Military Police Col Tihomir Zebec and Deputy Chief of the Czech Military Police Col Pavel Fejfar. This year, Maj Jozef Šoltýs from Slovakia was put in command, his deputy being Maj Franjo Baruncič from Croatia and Chief of Staff is Maj Martin Czuprinski from Poland. According to Maj Jozef Šoltýs, the exercise was aimed at harmonization of activities of the staff of the battalion within the planning and decision making processes. The command staff exercise was observed by the observers from the US 18th brigade. In September, the staff members of the Military Police NATO Multinational Battalion will take part in the simulation exercise at Defence Academy in Brno, and in November they will participate in the command staff exercise of the Battalion to be held in Poland under the lead of the Multinational Corps Northeast. ● On 12 May, Maj Gen Pavel Macko, 2nd Vice Chief of the SVK General Staff, met with Brig Percy G. Hurtado, EUCOM J5 Deputy, to evaluate the achieved level of co-operation. Maj Gen Macko informed his foreign partner on the current state and the transformation process of the SVK Armed Forces. The SVK Armed Forces delegation presented main goals of the training and development of key SVK AF components. The partners also discussed the current security situation.
Meeting at Moravia
(12 May) The third joint negotiation of the Slovak and Czech Governments was held in Valtice in southern Moravia. The defence ministers, accompanied by their respective Chiefs of the General Staffs, focused their discussions mainly on preparation of the project of the joint protection of the air space and on their cooperation in the field of the land forces’ exercises and joint V4 exercises. Yet back at their meeting in Skalica in the past year, the Governments charged the both ministers with the task to present solutions to the issue of implementation of the project of joint protection of the air space. Based on the above, on 1 September 2014, full operational capability of the air cross-border operations was achieved. “What we must bear in mind is economic efficiency and to this end, we must put together a flawless contract with respect to the Gripen,” said SVK Minister Martin Glváč after the negotiation. The SVK decision on a lease of flying hours of the fighter aircraft JAS-39 Gripen significantly contributed to the cooperation between the countries within the project of a single sky, coordination of logistic support and joint training. The Ministers further highlighted their commitment to actively develop cooperation in the field of protection and safeguarding the air space even in a wider regional V4 format. “The Army of the Czech Republic is a key partner for us in the field of training. Our countries are still close to each other, which can be manifestly seen at our joint exercises,” said Chief of the SVK General Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim.
Plans to build museum at Slavín
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(14 May) SVK Ministry of Defence would like to build a museum devoted to the memory of Word War II under the Slavín Memorial. Since it is the capital city that is in charge of administration and management of the Memorial, Martin Glváč would like to consult this ambition with the Bratislava Magistrate, as well as with the Ministry of Culture and historians. He met with Miloslav Hrádek, Director of the Bratislava Funeral Services, and awarded him with a commemorative medal of Minister of Defence, 3rd grade, for an excellent care and maintenance of the Slavín Memorial and its surroundings. “The premises in question, which have not been utilized so far, seem to be ideal for establishing a museum of such kind, which is what Bratislava lacks,” said the Minister. “I cannot image a better way how to pay tribute to all those heroes than by building a place that would remind us of their bravery and determination to fight for freedom of all of us,” he added. Should the Bratislava Magistrate support the idea of establishing a museum in the Slavín Memorial’s underground premises, the department of defence shall provide expertise of the Military History Institute’s historians. The establishment of a museum under the Slavín memorial hence becomes one of the numerous activities of the Minister of Defence to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
● 14 psychologists of the SVK Armed Forces underwent a crisis intervention training directed at basic principles and methods of mediation in crisis situations, which was held at the Military Police Training and Canine Division Vlkanová-Hronsek on 11– 15 May. Attention was especially paid to ways of communication while mediating, characteristics and tasks of a mediator, typology of perpetrators of offences, and basic mediation principles and methods. The training was executed in co-operation with the Corps of Prison and Court Guard, and headed by Maj Juraj Furda. ● On Saturday, 16 May, the Institute of Military History Bratislava and its component the Museum of Military History Svidník joined the European initiative entitled the Night of Museums and Galleries. Under the auspices of the SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč, the public was offered a free entry to the exhibition in Svidník, as well as to the Observation Tower Dukla in Vyšný Komárnik, where the organizers prepared a varied programme: demonstration of wheeled vehicles, historic small arms, close combat, and handling of firearms. ● On 4 – 8 May, the first mobile course organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence seated in Tallinn, Estonia, was held at the Stationary Communication and Information Systems (CIS) Base. Entitled the Botnet Mitigation Training, the course was focused on reverse engineering hostile code, as well as methods applicable to botnet infiltrations. It introduced the participants to the problematics of botnets and their infrastructure. Lecturers with international experience explained the detection of data exfiltration, modern techniques to bypass detection systems, and the problematics of botnets shown at malware samples such as Operation Red October, Zero and Zero Access Botnet. The course was also attended by other SVK MOD components, members of the Mobile CIS Base, as well as the CSIRT.SK Team of the SVK Ministry of Finance. ● Based on the invitation of the Indiana National Guard State CSM, CSM Vladimír Beluš, Chief NCO of the SVK Armed Forces, together with SM Miroslav Dulaj, Commanding NCO of the Command, Control and Surveillance Brigade based in Zvolen, left for an official visit to the USA. The visit’s goal is to meet with James R. Gordon, the Indiana National Guard State CSM. They will discuss issues on co-operation in the field of education and training of NCOs, as well as co-operation in organizing exercises. They will also talk about further possibilities of the SVK Armed Forces to make use of courses (such as the International Military Education Training – IMET), about their experience from international crisis management operations, and the representation of the NCO Corps and the SVK Armed Forces.
Unveiling at IDET fair (17 May) At the IDET International Exhibition of Defence and Security Technologies, which is to be held on 19 – 21 May in Brno, Czech Republic, the SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč will unveil a new 155mm / 52 cal. light truck-carried howitzer EVA, which is the product of the KONŠTRUKTA – Defence, Ltd., one of the companies under a common trade name DMD GROUP with a seat in Dubnica nad Váhom. “In terms of the government’s Programme Declaration, we support the Slovak arms industry at the maximum possible rate. Each new product stands for an evidence, that our defence companies still have a lot to offer,” stated the minister. Within the static presentation of the SVK MOD exhibits, visitors can take a look at the self-propelled gun howitzer ZUZANA 2, military materiel determined for international crisis management, the IVECO vehicle with a mechanical turret, as well as a battery command vehicle with the DELOSYS artillery system. In the form of dynamic demonstrations, Slovak soldiers will present a light multi-purpose vehicle with a mechanical turret, and a decontamination vehicle.
High school Day of courage (13 May) On 11 – 13 May, in co-operation with the Institute of Military History Bratislava, civic association named Let’s Save the Petržalka Bunkers, and the SVK Armed Forces Honour Guard Bratislava, military sports days entitled the Day of Courage were organized for Bratislava high schools and took place at the BS-8 military bunker in Petržalka, Bratislava. Apart from information on the history of Slovakia and the bunker itself, there were stands prepared for the students, at which they could demonstrate their skills and marksmanship: run with a tactical vest and a Kevlar helmet on, and shooting from an air rifle at a stationary target from the distance of 10m. At a recruiting tent, the students learned about how to become a professional soldier, about studies at General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Armed Forces Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš, as well as about the current SVK Armed Forces.
Pilots’ missile – firing exercise (15 May) Four fighter aircraft MiG-29, belonging to the inventory of the SVK Air Force, took part in the exercise at the Baltic Sea in Poland. Soldiers from the Combined Wing Sliač underwent live missile – firing as part of the exercise STRELA. In the firing took part also the operational and technical personnel and the members of the air traffic control squadron. “Through such exercises the preparedness of our air personnel is being enhanced. One of their main tasks is to serve in a stand-by system of joint protection of NATO countries’ air space - NATO Air and Missile Defence System,” highlighted Brig Gen Miroslav Korba, Commander of the SVK Air Force. In Poland, the Air Force deployed two fighter aircraft MiG-29 AS and two fighter aircraft MiG-29 UBS.
Preparedness of engineers put to test at exercise Engineer Rescuers
(13 May) Removing consequences of large–scale natural disasters on territories of the two neighbouring countries or assistance to the civilian population. From 8 – 14 May, nearly 500 professional soldiers of the SVK Armed Forces and the Army of the Czech Republic took part in an engineer exercise dubbed Engi-
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neer Rescuers 2015 in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. Namely in Sereď, Přerov, Libavá and Kojetín, the combined Czech and Slovak engineer units performed a multitude of tasks like establishment of humanitarian bases, building roads and bridges, bridging the obstacles or rescue and recovery of persons. “Our engineers regularly assist at removing consequences of natural disasters and they invariably prove to be real professionals. Still it is vital for them to exchange experiences with the soldiers from other countries, which experience they can further draw on at the time of a real deployment. I am pleased to see the next of the series of joint exercises with the Czech Republic,” stated Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. The exercise was arranged by the Czech and Slovak Ministers of Defence during the joint meeting of the governments of the respective countries on 24 April 2014 in Skalica.
May 11 - 17, 2015