Welcoming ceremony for ISAF troops in Martin
(11 July) On Friday, 11 July, in the premises of the SNU barracks – Podháj in Martin a ceremonial parade was held on the occasion of the homecoming of troops serving in ISAF, Afghanistan. 283 troops were part of two rotations, the first one performing tasks since June 2013 and the other one since December 2013. Members of the both rotations, which ended their tour in Afghanistan in June 2014, performed force protection tasks at the military base in the Kandahar Air Field, some of them operated at the Regional Command South, the others within advisory team and special operations advisory group. Some members of the SVK contingent were part of military police. The ceremony was held in the presence of SVK Land Forces Commander Brig Gen Ondřej Novosad, 1st mechanized brigade Topoľčany Commander Col of the GS Ján Bujňák, 2nd mechanized brigade Prešov Commander Col Martin Michalko and other guests. After the address made by Land Forces Commander, a medal parade was held, where the troops were awarded with Medals of the Minister of Defence for their participation in the operations, with Military Veterans’ Medals and with Medals for humanitarian assistance. ● On 8 July, SVK Minister of Defence sent a telegram of condolence to the Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Martin Stropnický. In the telegram he expressed deep sorrow and grief over a loss of soldiers who performed tasks in Afghanistan. Four Czech soldiers died on Tuesday, 8 July, in a suicide attack in the vicinity of Bagram Base in the eastern part of Afghanistan. The other Czech soldier suffered severe injuries. It was the most serious bomb attack against foreign military forces in Afghanistan this year. ● On Tuesday, 8 July, Commander of the 1st mechanized brigade Topoľčany Col of GS Ján Bujňák welcomed military attaché of the Czech Republic to Slovakia Col Roman Kopřiva. He provided him with historical background and introduced current structure, top-ranking officials and the main role and tasks of the brigade and its subordinate units. He also informed him of the priorities of the training year 2014 and they also talked about the planned joint exercise Ground Pepper.
Presidential visit (7 July) A er ten years, the SVK Armed Forces have a new Commander‐in‐Chief. The newly elected Presi‐ dent of the Slovak Republic and Commander‐in‐Chief of the SVK Armed Forces Andrej Kiska for the first me made a visit to the SVK Ministry of Defence on Monday, 7 July. With Minister of Defence Mar n Glváč they discussed priori es of defence department for the upcoming period as well as the current condi‐ on of the Armed Forces. “It was our first informa ve mee ng. I gained a fair‐ ly detailed insight about the current condi on of our Armed Forces and about the plans for the future,” stated Andrej Kiska and added that situa on at Ukraine makes us review the issue of security in Eu‐ rope. “We addressed the cri cal issues, namely the issue of moderniza on and the issue of shaping a course of further development in our Armed Forces. Chief of the Defence Staff informed the President of the cur‐ rent state of our Armed Forces,” said Minister of De‐ fence Mar n Glváč. President Kiska appreciated the fact that the current leadership of the Ministry of Defence invested much more funds from defence budget into moderniza on of the Armed Forces: “The Minister demonstrated that they successfully managed to transfer a part of funds that were ini ally designated to cover person‐ nel costs into moderniza on projects, which is what I very much appreciate.” At the mee ng they also raised the issue of the up‐ coming NATO Summit, which is to be held in Wales. The Minister of Defence and the President concurred on the need to arrange such mee ngs also in the fu‐ ture. “The mee ngs will be frequent and problem‐ oriented,” concluded Head of Defence Department Glváč at the end of the Presiden al visit.
● On 9 July, SVK Chief of the Defence Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim made an official visit to the transportation wing based in Kuchyňa, where he was informed of the main role and tasks of the same. Chief of Staff of the transportation wing Lt Col Tibor Pavel gave a briefing on the designation of the transportation wing, on the main tasks and logistic support. SVK ChoD took the opportunity to see the control tower, equipment used by the military firefighting unit, aprons and hangars with aviation equipment.
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(10 July) The Slovak Republic is commi ed to develop‐ ing defence coopera on with France. This was con‐ firmed by SVK Minister of Defence Mar n Glváč at his mee ng with the French Ambassador Didier Lopinot. “I do believe that rela onship with France will be further developed also within the V4”, said the Minister. Head of Defence Department informed the French Ambassa‐ dor also of the planned moderniza on projects of the SVK Armed Forces. “We are about to launch processes that would enable us to cut off the Russian equipment, and our aim is that the new equipment would comply with NATO standards,” said Minister Glváč. He empha‐ sized that he would be glad to see the French compa‐ nies joining the process of acquisi on.
(10 July) Prospective members of the SVK Armed Forces will be given a possibility to achieve university education during a preparatory state service not only at military academies, even abroad. The change of the Act on the state service of professional soldiers will apply to the graduates in fields where the armed forces face a crisis over a shortage of specialists, namely aviation, IT, medicine or psychology. A student will receive university education during his/her service in a rank of 1st Degree Private. In the course of his or her studies he/she will be given a monthly pay equal to 50% of salary of 2nd Degree Private, 1st salary rate, and he/she will be entitled to free accommodation and boarding. During his/her studies he/she well be a regular soldier, with all inherent discretions and duties permitted and imposed by law. In the case such student would not complete his/her studies or, having finished his/her studies, he/she would decide to quit the SVK Armed Forces before having served at least nine years, he/she would have to compensate costs incurred by the defence establishment in connection with said student’s or graduate’s university studies, or at least a proportion of such costs.
● In July and August, the Slovak broadcast – Radio Regina will broadcast a programme Kulinárium, which will introduce military chefs, military cuisine and military dining facilities. The radio programme was prepared on 9 July in barracks in Topoľčany, with the assistance of six professional soldiers – military cooks from Nitra based 12th mechanized battalion and Rožňava based CBRN battalion. The radio school of cooking, led by the chef SSgt Roland Hulan from battalion Nitra, was more than just a good fun; it was also a testimony to the ability of military chefs to prepare food that is really delicious. All the food was being prepared in a mobile field kitchen. ● Members of the Military Council of the Land Forces Commander dealt with the topical issues on 10 July. The working negotiation with units’ commanders and heads of divisions was led by Land Forces Commander Brig Gen Ondřej Novosad. Members of the Military Council were made conversant with the current state of reorganization changes, with the state of preparedness of NRF 2015 and with preparation of the equipment for seasonal operation. Among the points on the agenda was also preparation of the international exercise Ground Pepper, as well as the current state of pre-deployment preparation of professional soldiers to EUFOR ALTHEA operation. ● SVK Ministry of Defence seeks to find new premises for the Military History Archive – central registry in Trnava. Based on economic analysis, the defence department experts have made a decision to move the archive to the rented premises, which premises will be selected by the Ministry in a transparent public tender. To-date, the Military History Archive is based in a building complex of the 17th century, which is a national cultural heritage. Some parts of the complex are in a critical condition, though. The problem of the inconvenient premises, where 13 million personal files are held, starting from 1921, together with 33 kilometers of registry records, has been often discussed in the past. However, none of the previous leadership was geared up to face the situation. To-date, the condition of the premises is serious enough to pose a serious health risk for the employees.
France and V4 countries
Cadets at civilian schools
Visit from JFC Brunssum
(8 July) Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum General Hans-Lothar Domröse visited Slovakia on 7 – 8 July. With SVK Chief of the Defence Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim, they addressed issues of the V4 EU Battlegroup, engagement of the SVK Armed Forces in ISAF and transformation of the operation into the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), and discussed also the current security challenges. General Domröse and SVK ChoD raised also the issue of current capabilities of the SVK Armed Forces, and talked about the exercises already held and those that are yet being planned. Gen Domröse evinced interest in results of the exercise Green Wave 2014, which was held in the presence of observers from JFC Brunssum. Equally, he was interested in the issue of extending the exercise Ground Pepper 2014, which is currently in the phase of planning and which is to be held in Slovakia in autumn this year, with participation of the V4 armed forces.
New bachelors – lieutenants swell ranks of regular soldiers
(11 July) On Friday, 11 July, 49 graduates of the Armed Forces Academy of Gen M. R. Štefánik in Liptovský Mikuláš gained the first commissioned officer rank of lieutenant and a bachelor’s degree. They have successfully completed their university study of the 1st grade and met the requirements posed by the military program. Lt Bc Martin Hanulík, graduate in the field of Weapons systems, weapons and their parts, was awarded as the Best Graduate of the
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Year and as such received Sword of Academy. Rector of the AFA Brig Gen Boris Ďurkech awarded an extraordinary scholarship for excellent results in the individual curriculum studies. In the graduation ceremony took part also 12 graduates of distance 2nd grade studies, specialization of Computer systems, nets and services. Among the successful graduates there were also two inceptors in the field of Security and Defence of the State.
July 7 - 13, 2014