Armed forces assist at floods in Terchová
(22 July) Terrain vehicles and soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Regiment assisted with a delivery of supplies in the flood-afflicted micro-region Terchová. “The Armed Forces are ready to provide troops and assets to mitigate consequences of floods in the region. Next purpose of deployment, as well as numbers of deployed personnel, will depend on the requirements to be posed by a crisis staff. We will respond flexibly to the requirements,” said Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. Based on the requirement made by Mayor of Terchová, members of the SVK Armed Forces helped to build bridge over the destroyed road and facilitated transportation of rescue service’ heavy equipment to the valley Vrátna dolina. For that purpose, the troops earmarked a bridge tank and a bridge deck, and, naturally, an operating crew. Starting from 22 July, members of the 5th Special Forces Regiment Žilina had to overcome a harsh and dangerous mountain terrain on foot to deliver supplies for the inhabitants of the settlement Štefanová, which was cut off from the rest of the country by floods, and provided for their transportation to Terchová. ● On Monday, 21 July, a commemorative ceremony was held in Košariská on the occasion of 134th anniversary of the birth of Gen Milan Rastislav Štefánik. It was organized by the SVK Ministry of Defence in co-operation with the municipality Košariská, the Slovak National Museum and M. R. Štefánik’s Museum. At the end of the ceremony, the guests attended the exhibition held in the reconstructed premises of M. R. Štefánik’s Museum.
Briefing to new ministers (21 July) SVK Minister of Educa on, Science, Research and Sport Peter Pellegrinin and SVK Minister of Economy Pavol Pavlis made a visit to the Command, Control and Reconnaissance Brigade based in Žilina. They were welcomed by Chief of Staff of the SVK Air Force Command HQs Col Stanislav Hurčík. Deputy Commander of the CCR Bde Lt Col Vladimír Jaklovský informed the new ministers of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS) and the tasks to be performed by the declared troops and assets of the quick reac on alert force of the SVK Air Force within NATINAMDS. The main point on the agenda of the visit was a briefing to the ministers on the rules and principles to be followed by the na onal government authority when considering interven on in the case of viola on of the Slovak airspace in compliance with the RENEGADE concept. Pursuant to the na onal legisla on, in the absence of the Minister of Defence the members of the SVK government, to include the SVK Minister of Educaon, Science, Research and Sport and the SVK Minister of Economy, undertake the func on of incumbent na onal government authority, which makes decisions on the use of troops and assets of the SVK Armed Forces to ensure inviolability of the airspace of the Slovak Republic. The both ministers were shown round the key workplaces at the Opera onal Centre of the Brigade, the Control and Repor ng Centre, the GCI and the Opera ons Control Centre, where they were informed by officers in standby duty of tasks at the individual workplaces.
● On 17 July, Lt Col Matthew H. Nuhse quit the post of Head of the Office of Defence Cooperation (ODC) at the US Embassy after having served in this position for 3 years. He was an intermediary and point of contact for the SVK Ministry of Defence and SVK Armed Forces in all the matters related to deliveries of defence article supplied by the United States under many support and development defence programs. On this occasion, as a token of their appreciation, Lt Col Ľuboš Korych and Capt Štefan Hojo (Division of international movement and transportation, transit and transportation infrastructure Bratislava/SVK LSO) awarded him with a commemorative letter and a memorial plaque. Lt Col Nuhse also handed over the acknowledgment letters to the selected members of Military Police and Multifunctional Supply Base Nemšová West.
Advisory team in Afghanistan
(22 July) Having been assigned an operational task, the second advisory team co-operating with the Afghan security forces MSF SFAT (Mobile Strike Force Security Forces Advisory Team) has started to operate. Under the lead of Commander Lt Col Peter Michlík, the unit took over the work of their colleagues from the first MSF SFAT. The Slovak advisors and their partners from the Afghan armed forces started the intensive preparation, taking form of courses and training. The staff advisors focus on the planning of and assistance with the daily routine and day-to-day staff work. The second SFAT, which had been deployed by the SVK Armed Forces to ISAF within the 22nd rotation, is composed of 48 professional soldiers. Their task is to prepare the members of the MSF (Mobile Strike Force) of the Afghan National Army for engagement with adversary.
● On Thursday, 24 July, Col Martin Stoklasa, Commander of the SVK Training and Support Forces (TSF), bid farewell to the two professional soldiers from the Command HQs. Sgt Maj Ján Brida and MSgt Miroslav Makara will, as from 1 August 2014, perform tasks outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, in Bydgoszcz, Poland and in Brunssum, the Netherlands, respectively. Col Stoklasa conveyed his acknowledgement to the both officers for the job well done in the TSF and awarded them with Commemorative Badges of the TSF Commander 1st Grade. ● On Thursday, 24 July, the Slovak soldiers serving at Kandahar Air Field came under fire. The attack was directed at the gate of Kandahar Air Field, where our soldiers perform force protection tasks. Fortunately, no one was wounded in the incident and our soldiers are doing well. To be more specific, Minister of Defence Martin Glváč stated that actually, two attacks were carried out on that particular occasion. For the first time, five shots were fired at the gate. Consequently, the gate was closed and after some thirty minutes the other attack was launched. ● On Friday, 25 July, on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of the air tragedy, the municipality Lom nad Rimavicou in cooperation with the SVK MoD organized a commemorative ceremony with a solemn mass in the area of Poľanská. A flypast of military aircraft and a wreath-laying ceremony closed the event. The air tragedy had happened on 3 July 1956, when a severe storm in vicinity of the village swept the military aircraft D47 of the US origin, having damaged its wings. The elevator was rendered uncontrollable and the plane crashed. 21 officers of the Czechoslovak army, to include the crew, died in this tragedy. ● Without claiming financial compensation, Commander of the SVK Training and Support Forces Col Martin Stoklasa and members of the SVK TSF HQs donated blood on 23 July in the National Blood Centre Trenčín.
MOD Yearbook 2013
The Internal Communication Section of the Communication Division of the Office of the Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic compiled a document of 140 pages, summarizing the main events and achievements of 2013 in the Defence Department and in the SVK Armed Forces. The yearbook also contains a compilation of all the issues of the MOD’s e-Bulletin in the past year. The distribution of the limited edition yearbook (300 pcs) will start as from this week. It will also be available in PDF format at http://www.mosr.sk/rocenka-mo-sr/.
Acknowledgement for gifting dogs to Department of Defence
www.mosr.sk/ebulletin/
Since the beginning of 2014, fourteen service dogs have been supplied to the SVK Armed Forces and Military Police. At the beginning of February, Minister of Defence Martin Glváč welcomed Caesar, a 12-week-old Alsatian (German shepherd), who swelled the ranks of Military Police. The Alsatian was given to the MOD as a gift from the K7 SVK civil association of dog handlers – rescuers.
Caesar, now already nine-month old, undergoes intensive training. Based on the results he would reach, he would be assigned either to a category of watch- dogs or to a category of patrol dogs or dogs trained for special purposes of drugs and explosives’ detection. In June, Military Police gained the other two twelveweek-old Alsatians Axel and Alex. They were given to the MOD as a gift from Rastislav Stacho, a service doghandler at the cynology section at the Directorate of Military Police. They will undergo initial training aimed at familiarizing themselves with different premises and surfaces and at carrying the standard equipment. Training also includes the basic obedience skills. As for the acquisition of the service dogs by the Department of Defence, the other two dogs were borrowed and the other nine were purchased. Altogether 14 service dogs met the demanding performance criteria
eBULLETIN MoD SR
and criteria with respect to training, health condition and sensory organs. Those dogs that failed to meet the stringent selection criteria were excluded from training. Currently, demand for service dogs exceeds the supply and in this respect it is critical to pay continual attention to the issue of acquisition of the service dogs. Besides a purchase, gifting the dogs or borrowing them is a valuable way to increasing the overall numbers of the service dogs, namely with respect to a need of their continual replacement due to age, health condition or death losses, as well as with respect to their use as guard dogs in military installations and military police dogs. Through the first seven months of 2014, also thanks to the support of SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč, the DoD made acquisition of fourteen service dogs, which is the same number as the number of dogs supplied in 2013.
July 21 - 27, 2014