Commemorating veterans
(18 June) Miloš Koterec, State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence, took part in the ceremony of the unveiling of a memorial plaque in honour of Czechoslovak war veterans who fought for the liberation of Europe in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The plaque in honour of fallen aviators was donated by the British community. The commemoration ceremony at Milan Rastislav Štefánik Square was accompanied by the performance of the Royal Air Force Central Band. A historic fighter aircraft Spitfire, marked with the initials of a Slovak hero Otto Smik, flew over those present at the ceremony. The plaque was unveiled by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. “Five Czechoslovak air units flew with the British Royal Air Force. Almost three hundred Slovaks served with these and other RAF squadrons. It was not only courage and confidence that were important in their success against the enemy, but also mutual cooperation,” stated State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Miloš Koterec at the commemoration ceremony. ● Lt Gen Boguslaw Samol, Commander of the NATO Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC-NE) in Szczecin, Poland, discussed on the matter of cooperation between MNC-NE and the SVK Armed Forces at the SVK General Staff on 16 and 17 June. SVK CHOD Lt Gen Milan Maxim briefed him on the results of the negotiations between V4 CHODs with an emphasis on developing a joint Battlegroup. The MNC-NE HQ is set to become a centre of military cooperation between V4 countries in the field of operations and training.
Military Deed of the Year (18 June) Department of Defence announced results of the 17th Annual Military Deed of the Year. In the category Lifesaving, the award went to Staff Sergeant Miroslav Staník for his swi ac on during the a ack on the Slovak troops in Afghanistan. His prompt reac on prevented further casual es. The prizewinner in the category Helping the Public and Friend of the Army is Captain Peter Sudimák, who was awarded for his altruis c and selfless act of helping an elderly woman and her grandson, who had found themselves without shelter. “I am glad to see that in these hurried mes there is s ll place le for humanity, bravery and courage. All the nominees would deserve this award, and not only them but everybody who gave another a helping hand in the past year,” stated SVK Minister of Defence Marn Glváč. He reminded that the past year was par cularly difficult for the SVK Armed Forces, namely in the view of lost human lives. The present guests commemorated the vic ms by one minute’s silence. SVK Chief of the Defence Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim appreciated all the stories that unfolded in the course of this year’s vote. “I am deeply impressed by all of them, they reveal a great deal of unselfishness and self -sacrifice,” he said. The tradi on of Military Deed of the Year was established 17 years ago by the Slovak Radio staff in charge of the army broadcast. The aim of the Military Deed of the Year is to acknowledge and appreciate those members of the defence establishment who had unselfishly helped the others, driven by nothing but mere altruism. The nomina ons were made not only by persons serving in the armed forces but also by the wide public that cooperates with military.
● From 23 – 27 June 2014, members of the Slovak Verification Centre of the Defence Planning Section, in cooperation with other components of the Ministry of Defence, will conduct an evaluation visit and inspection in a designated area on the territory of Ukraine pursuant to the provisions of the Agreement between the Government of the Slovak Republic and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Complementary Confidence and Security Building Measures. It is the second verification activity of the Slovak Republic on the territory of Ukraine, realized in accordance with the Vienna Document 2011. ● Among the main topics of a conversational language course, organised by the Language Institute in Liptovský Mikuláš from 9 to 27 June, were the current national and world security questions, international management operations and the service of SVK Armed Forces members in NATO and EU missions. Members of individual military units and the Military Police develop their conversational skills in English language during 3 week period through panel discussions with a foreign teacher and teachers from the Language Institute. The course will finish with participants’ final presentations.
(19 June) On Thursday, 19 June, SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč bid farewell to the last rotation of troops deploying to ISAF, Afghanistan. Two US military aircraft flew 301 Slovak troops, to include the control group of nine, to Afghanistan. Col Zoltán Iboš, who had served as commander of KFOR in Kosovo, will take over the command of the SVK contingent from the outgoing Col Svetozár Bohuš. The SVK contingent comprises a force protection unit, one advisory team to mentor the Afghan National Army battalion and one advisory team to assist the Afghan national forces. The other thirteen members will serve at the Operational Headquarters.
Minister appreciates cooperation
(21 June) SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč presented Brig Gen Michael Fantini, Kandahar Airfield (KAF) Commander, with the “Commemorative medal for participation in military operations.” On the authority of the Minister, the medal was presented by Col Svetozár Bohuš, SLOVCON ISAF Commander. "This award is a symbol of the excellent cooperation between the Airfield Command and the SLOVCON. Teamwork is essential in Afghanistan, and I'm glad that our soldiers are an integral part of the international team that operates at the base in Kandahar," stated the Minister.
● With the aim to continue in cooperation and exchange of information in the field of artillery, Col Ivan Mráz, Chief of Artillery, Army of the Czech Republic, visited the rocket launcher unit (RLU) based in Rožňava and self-propelled artillery unit based in Michalovce on 18 June. The Czech delegation, accompanied by Cpt Peter Giertl from the Ground Forces HQ, was welcomed in Rožňava by RLU Commander Lt Col Zoltán Farkas. He introduced them to the history, deployment and purpose of the unit, as well as its tasks, equipment, structure and planned training. ● Within the cooperation between the SVK Armed Forces and the NATO Joint Force Command HQ Brunssum in the Netherlands, Brig Gen Eric Roussel visited the Slovak Republic from 17 to 20 June. He was welcomed at the premises of the Combined Wing Sliač by Col Igor Brandabura, Chief of the Operations Department, SVK Air Force, and Col Vladimír Lisý, Combined Wing Sliač Commander. The guests became acquainted with the possibilities of performing tasks associated with providing support to the host country (Host Nation Support Base).
Green Wave 2014
www.mosr.sk/ebulletin/
(19 June) Thanks to a unique exercise dubbed Green wave 2014, soldiers gained valuable experience. This was concluded by SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč after he had watched several demonstrations within the exercise in Kamenica nad Cirochou. “The soldiers will be able to draw upon the experience gained in this exercise in every field of the domestic crisis management, starting from planning through logistic support to deployment itself. They also practiced cooperation and coordination with the other elements of rescue system,” said the Head of the Defence Department. As explained by SVK Chief of the Defence Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim, the exercise presented the reallife scenarios. 2nd Deputy ChoD Maj Gen Pavel Macko particularly emphasized the excellent coordination between the police corps and with
Farewell to last rotation
Firing rocket launchers and SPHs
(17 June) The 1st firing battery of the self-propelled artillery division Michalovce and a rocket launcher platoon of Rožňava - based rocket launcher division performed tasks of combat firing practice on 16 – 17 June in the Training centre Lešť. The main aim was to practice ammunition handling procedures, to gain practice and to improve the selected professional’s shooting skills and fire control of artillery. Equally, the participants practiced coordination between the rocket launcher platoon and the firing battery of the selfpropelled howitzers in the deployment area prior to, during and after the performance the firing tasks.
First Bronze Star
rescue service. Nearly 900 professional soldiers took part in the exercise. The Minister awarded ten of them, who had achieved the best results, with commemorative coins.
eBULLETIN MoD SR
On Kandahar Airfield base in Afghanistan, 47 members of the SVK advisory team within the Strategic Forces Advisory Team (SFAT) were awarded with the Non-Article 5 medals for service in ISAF. Commander of the US infantry battalion 1-12 Red Warriors Lt Col William Voorhies presented 5 members of the SVK unit with Commendation medals for their dedication, excellent performance of tasks and cooperation with the US unit. Commander of the advisory unit Lt Col Štefan Acsai was, as the first Slovak soldier in history, awarded with the Bronze Star Medal, which is the fourth-highest individual military combat award and the ninth-highest by order of precedence in the US military.
June 16 - 22, 2014