Initial Military Training in Martin
The training battalion opened its training for the first time in 2014 on 13th January, for 156 candidates of the preparatory state service who will undergo their initial military training there and for whom the Barracks of the 4th Czechoslovak brigade Martin will become their home-place for the next nine weeks. There are nine females among the candidates of the state preparatory service. After undergoing the standard admission procedure and after being equipped with the necessary materiel and equipment, recruits were assigned to the training squads and their training immediately started. The preparation of the prospective professional soldiers will be governed by the revised program of the basic military training, which incorporates lessons learned during the training provided so far, as well as newly formulated demands of the Armed Forces of the SR. The candidates will undergo training aimed at mastering the elementary combat skills, which will be put to test in the Training Area of the Military District Lešť during the fire practice training and at the final exercise in the garrison training area Sučany. Having successfully undergone the training, they will take part in the graduation ceremony to be held in March and they will be assigned to their new posts in their home units. ● The aim of the first joint command preparation this year, which was held on 15 January, was to introduce the basic fire safety rules and principles of protection of classified information and to introduce legal regulations related to health and safety at work. The preparation, attended by commanders of directly subordinated units of the Land Forces and members of the Land Forces HQ, was led by the commander of the brigade, Brigadier General Ondřej Novosad. The preparation concluded with a final lecture on medical preparation, in particular on the current trends in military medical services. ● The training of mechanized squads started in the mechanized battalion Levice, in the premises of the garrison training area. Namely the members of the 2nd mechanized company took part in the intensive training. The part of the training was a foot movement to the garrison training area. In the past year, the members of the 2nd mechanized company provided assistance to the citizens during floods.
Commemoration at Hejce (January 19) In the Hungarian village Hejce, at Borsó Hill, the Minister of Defence Mar n Glváč paid tribute to the 42 vic ms of the aircra accident of the military transport aircra An‐42. Eight years have passed since the biggest air crash in the history of the Armed Forces of the SR. “January 19th 2006 is a black day in a mod‐ ern history of the Armed Forces of the SR. This place speaks volumes about what difference a single minute or even second can make. Some mes only minutes or seconds decide about what will or will not happen and how our life can change in a single moment,” said the Minister a er the solemn ceremony at Borsó Hill and he invited the par cipants to commemorate all the sol‐ diers who died in the line of duty. The former Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Gen. (Ret.) Ľubomír Bulík confessed that the commemora on at the village Hejce and at Borsó Hill is par cularly strong and emo onal every me. The commemora on ceremony was held in the presence of Captain Mar n Farkaš, the only survi‐ vor of the aircra tragedy.
New Terrain Vehicles
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(January 16) The Minister of Defence of the Slovak Re‐ public Mar n Glváč handed over 30 new terrain vehi‐ cles Tatra 815 and Atkis, which can be instantly brought to opera on. The new vehicles will replace the obsolete PV3S. “I believe the vehicles will operate efficiently and reli‐ ably and that in 2014 we will meet repeatedly on simi‐ lar occasions. Let me wish the members of the Armed Forces many happy kilometers and I really wish these vehicles would be used primarily at peace me,” said the Minister of Defence of the SR Mar n Glváč. Altera‐ on of the obsolete equipment is currently one of the top priori es of the defence department. The Minister emphasized the fact that the both types of vehicles were made in Slovakia. According to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek, this type vehicles used so far are all over twenty years old.
● As of 1st January, the CBRN battalion has been performing one of the main tasks of the training year 2014 – participation in the system of operational readiness of NRF 2014 and in OPCW. On the ceremonial parade held on 10th January, the commander of the battalion Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Toderiška presented the members of the CBRN units assigned to the declared forces of NRF 2014 with green berets, symbolizing their affiliation with the high-readiness forces.
Cooperation between SR and France (January 13) The Slovak Republic takes interest in further defence cooperation with France. Such determination was confirmed by the State Secretary Miloš Koterec at the meeting with the French Ambassador Didier Lopinot. Besides the political and military negotiations, educational exchange of cadets or courses for the air force specialists are being considered, as well as the participation of the Armed Forces of the SR in the exercises under extreme conditions. The French Ambassador also raised the issue of the security - political situation in the Central African Republic. Viewed from the perspective of France, the security and humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic is unsustainable and it will require a coordinated engagement of the EU countries to stabilize the situation. M. Koterec assured the French Ambassador that the SR appreciates the effort that France puts in to resolve the situation in the Central African Republic and will seek to participate in resolving the situation through EU.
● Professional soldiers from the Mobile CIS Base in Ružomberok have collected voluntary donations through the foundation Help to Children at Risk for Barborka Orolínová from Valaská Dubová. The girl is suffering from polio and has been confined to a wheelchair. She regularly undergoes financially demanding rehabilitation procedures that should help her stand up. The selected representatives from the base collected the amount of EUR 470, which they handed over to Barborka’s parents. They believe it would help Barborka to make the next step on the road to recovery, thus making her dream come true. ● Eight years have passed since the day when the members of the transportation wing left forever its ranks. A memorial meeting was held on 17th January to pay tribute to those who had lost their lives in the vicinity of the Hungarian village Hejce. After a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial, a mass for the dead was celebrated by the Ordinary of the Slovak Armed Forces and Armed Corps Mons. František Rábek. ● On 14th and 15th January, the new commanding noncommissioned officer of the Headquarters of the Combat Service Support Brigade, Sergeant Major Milan Pavlík, made a visit to the units directly subordinated to the brigade – Transportation Battalion, Multifunction battalion in Hlohovec and the Repair and Maintenance battalion in Martin. He met with the commanding non-commissioned officers of the battalions and other non-commissioned officers of the command support structure. The visit was made with the aim to get a detailed insight into the main capabilities of the individual battalions and to familiarize with the tasks to be performed in the training year, as well as to set the aggregate tasks for the non-commissioned combat support structure.
Assistance Provided Last Year Last year, the amount of EUR 741 697 was spent out of the budget of MoD SR on interventions at emergencies in the SR. EUR 447 532 out of the above amount were spent on fire service rapid intervention. In 2013, 933 persons and 92 pieces of equipment were called upon to mitigate the consequences of emergencies, and Mi-17 helicopters made altogether 334 flights and dropped 366 500 liters of water. Soldiers intervened 22 times to assist with extinguishing fires and to relieve effects of floods and calamitous snowfall. They assisted with the recovery of a civilian helicopter stuck in the river Váh, with search and rescue of a lost aircraft and with search and rescue of a missing person. Department of Defence is preparing a project of active reserves and voluntary military service so that these could also be employed at emergencies in the future.
Slovak SOAG in Afghanistan Ready to Operate (January 16) The Slovak Special Operations Advisory Group (SOAG), composed of the members of the 5th Special Forces Regiment Žilina, declared on 16th January full operational preparedness on the site of deployment in Afghanistan. Prior to their departure on 1st January, the Second Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Major General Pavel Macko came to bid farewell to the 24 soldiers, accompanied by the US Defence Attaché to SR Lieutenant Colonel Matthew D. Atkins. Subsequently, the unit deployed in the northern Afghanistan joined the members of the forward group, which had arrived at the site of deployment yet in November last year. Its mission will be to assist with the building of the autonomous special forces of the Afghan National Army. The soldiers raised the Slovak flag on 13th January, on the ceremony of handing over the operational task. Deployment of the forward SOAG was affected by the tragic incident occurring on 27 December last year, when two soldiers of the forward group were killed in an attack. Nevertheless, members of the SVK SOAG are fully prepared to perform their combat tasks, without imposing any constraints.
eBULLETIN MoD SR
January 13 - 19, 2014